Nancy Mace joins immigration enforcement operation in Goose Creek neighborhood

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCBD) – U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) joined immigration agents for an operation in the Lowcountry Friday morning as the Trump administration ramps up promised efforts to conduct mass deportations.

Mace posted on X before sunrise that she was “headed out with ICE,” later posting a video describing an arrest where an individual hid in the ceiling.

“We’re not just talking about deporting illegal aliens — we’re out here seeing it in action for ourselves – firsthand,” Mace wrote alongside the video. “South Carolina needs bold leadership to support President Trump’s America First agenda deporting the bad guys and putting our people first.

“It helps to have sheriffs who work with ICE too,” she added, seemingly referencing her push to oust former Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano.  

Friday morning’s raid occurred in a neighborhood on Brick Greens Road in Goose Creek. Mace said she witnessed a “very smooth operation” that resulted in several individuals being taken into custody.

“I think it’s really important that when we are crafting law and weighing in on policy, that we as elected officials really have an understanding of what these agents, these offices, these departments, and agencies are going through each and every single day, and what the process is on the other side,” Mace told News 2 when asked why she chose to ride-along with ICE.

According to Mace, one of the individuals arrested — the one she described as hiding in the ceiling — was wanted for fentanyl distribution.

“This particular individual was a very bad guy,” she said. “He was recently caught with 3.5 grams of fentanyl. This is someone in our own backyard, in Goose Creek. That amount of fentanyl could kill hundreds if not more people.”

“This guy is getting a one-way ticket back to whatever country he came from, and he can stay there,” she added.

LJ Roscoe, chief of the Goose Creek Police Department, said the department was not notified that ICE would be serving warrants at the location in advance.

“The Goose Creek Police Department was not given information in advance that ICE was going to be at the address, however, we were notified once they needed help,” Roscoe said in a statement to News 2. “They resolved the issue prior to our arrival, so no one from Goose Creek Police Department was involved or on scene.”

Mace chalked it up to a miscommunication but said that local authorities should “of course” be notified before an operation is carried out.

“Everybody works very closely together, and communication is very important to these agencies, and I know that they’re working really hard to make sure that everybody’s on the same page,” she said.

“What’s going to happen is people are going to call into 911, they’re going to call into the police station and say ‘What’s going on?’ when they see many, many vehicles with lights blazing when someone is being apprehended, so that’s a good communication method,” Mace continued.

Authorities have been conducting raids across the country, intensifying efforts in recent days. ICE has been regularly posting enforcement updates on social media. According to the agency, agents had made 1,016 arrests as of Jan. 29.

Since taking office, Trump has signed several executive orders intended to crack down on immigration. He deployed military personnel and federal law enforcement to the southern border, froze the U.S. refugee admissions program, and reinstated policies that restrict pathways for asylum seekers.

He also ordered an end to birthright citizenship, though a federal judge quickly blocked the executive order, deeming it “blatantly unconstitutional.”

On Wednesday, Trump announced plans to use Guantanamo Bay in Cuba to detain thousands of migrants while signing the Laken Riley Act – which requires authorities to detain undocumented immigrants if they are accused of burglary, theft, or shoplifting – into law.  

Mace, who has centralized the issue as she mulls a possible gubernatorial bid, reintroduced a measure in Congress earlier this month that targets migrants convicted of sex crimes.

Her bill, the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, passed the House on Jan. 16 with bipartisan support.

The Department of Homeland Security has not yet returned a request for information regarding Friday’s raid or other operations being carried out in the Lowcountry.

But as Mace suggested: “It’s not the first, and it sure won’t be the last.”