Vincent Scardina voted for Donald Trump in 2024. He backed the deportations, believed the warnings about “criminal aliens,” and trusted the rhetoric about restoring law and order. But last week, as six of his own employees vanished during their morning commute, the roofing company owner from Key West, Florida, found himself in the crosshairs of the very system he helped legitimize.
ICE agents, operating under Project 2025’s accelerated deportation protocols, detained Scardina’s Nicaraguan workers—one-third of his workforce—despite the fact that all but one held valid work permits and had pending asylum claims. Their arrest was not the result of a criminal investigation, but a “routine operation,” federal officials said.
For Scardina, it was anything but routine.
Fighting back tears in an interview with NBC 6, he explained how his entire operation ground to a halt. “We can’t just replace these guys overnight,” he said. “Not in Key West. You can’t just walk out on the street and find trained roofers. These guys are like family.”
His voice broke as he added: “You see what happens to their families. It’s… it’s quite a shock.”
The emotional moment has since gone viral—not only for the pain on Scardina’s face, but for what it represents: the moment when partisan slogans collide with human reality.
These weren’t shadowy “illegals” from a campaign ad. They were the men he shared lunch with. Trained craftsmen. Fathers. Legal workers who had done everything by the book.
And they were gone.
In Scardina’s words, “They were just six Latino men in a work truck. That’s all it took.”
The Price of Loyalty
Trump’s immigration agenda, heavily shaped by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 blueprint, has ramped up ICE activity in states like Florida, Texas, and Arizona. Under new orders, agents are targeting not only undocumented immigrants but also those with valid claims, if any part of their paperwork is pending or incomplete.
That shift has blindsided thousands of small business owners like Scardina—many of whom were loyal Trump voters who never thought the crackdown would reach them.
“It’s not just happening to me,” Scardina said. “I know a landscaper who lost his entire crew in one day. He’s out of business now.”
Caught in the Crossfire
Attorney Regilucia Smith, who is representing the detained workers, confirmed to NBC 6 that all but one had fully valid legal status. “These are not criminals. These are people who followed the rules,” she said. “And they were taken anyway.”
Even some within Scardina’s company expressed disbelief.
“It’s mind-blowing,” said Virgil Scardina, an employee whose relation to Vincent was not specified. “We’re heartbroken. But what’s worse is those men’s kids—they don’t get their dads back tonight.”
The fear is spreading. Other contractors in the region are now keeping low profiles, unsure whether ICE might show up next. Workers are avoiding public spaces. Parents are pulling children from school. A community that once thrived on quiet labor and mutual respect now trembles at sirens.
“Who Wins?”
Scardina, once a proud Trump supporter, now finds himself questioning everything.
“I believed the talk about deporting criminals,” he said. “But now I’m thinking they’re just trying to meet quotas.”
He paused.
“Who wins in this scenario?”
The answer, increasingly, seems to be no one.