Dominic Smithers
Florida's governor has said he wants to 'send illegal aliens back to where they came from' after they were caught looting following the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian.
The deadly storm ravaged the state's coastline last week, with dozens of people losing their lives and thousands of homes badly damaged.
With winds reaching 150mph, terrifying footage of the hurricane showed roofs flying through the air while roads turned into fast-flowing rivers.
A huge rescue mission has been underway over recent days, as emergency services try desperately to find the missing.
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But aside from the human cost of the hurricane, Governor Ron DeSantis says a number of 'foreigners' have been caught looting properties.
He said: "We’ve had four looters that were arrested … and they need to be brought to justice.
“But you know, three of the four are illegal aliens. And so these are people that are foreigners, they’re illegally in our country — and not only that, they tried to loot and ransack in the aftermath of a natural disaster."
DeSantis went on: "I mean, they should be prosecuted, but they need to be sent back to their home country. They should not be here at all.
"If I could, I would take those three looters, I would drag them out by the collars and I would send them back to where they came from."
The four people he was referring to were Omar Mejia Ortiz, 33, Valerie Celeste Salcedo Mena, 26, Brandon Mauricio Araya, 20, and Steve Eduardo Sanchez Araya, 20.
They were arrested on Thursday (29 September) on suspicion of burglary of an unoccupied structure during a state of emergency.
Despite DeStantis' claims, however, it's not clear whether or not they were in the US illegally.
According to the arrest report from the Lee County Sheriff, the quartet were allegedly caught stealing booze from a seafood bar, which had been damaged during the storm.
The bar's owner allegedly caught them and flagged down a police car and pointed them in the direction of the four alleged criminals, who were carrying around 17 bottles of alcohol at the time.
This comes after a senator claimed that an entire town in Florida had been completely destroyed by the hurricane.
Fort Myers Beach has been one of the worst hit regions of the state.
So badly damaged, senator Marco Rubio said last week that it 'no longer exists'.
Speaking to ABC News, he said a major rebuild will be needed but it's unlikely the town ever be what it was.
"I don't think it has a comparison, not in Florida," Rubio said.
"Fort Myers Beach no longer exists.
"It'll have to be rebuilt. It'll be something different. It was a slice of old Florida that you can't recapture."
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