South Miami is the only municipality taking it to court
Coral Gables might have been the first Miami-Dade city to enter into a formal agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as a 287g, that gives the local police the ability to stop and detain undocumented immigrants during the course of their jobs. But Hialeah followed. And then Doral. And then West Miami.
About 250 cities and counties across the state have entered into these agreements since January 20, when President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, which requires ICE to authorize state and local law enforcement officials to assist with deportations. Gov. Ron DeSantis has said it’s a mandate, not optional, because refusing to sign it would make a municipality a “sanctuary city” which are prohibited in Florida.
The City of Miami may be next to sign a 287g. City Commissioners were set to discuss it at Tuesday’s meeting. A note on the online agenda says it may be deferred. But city sources told Ladra that could just be a trick to stop any public comments or protests.
A group of community organizers, civil rights leaders and residents will gather at 8 a.m. in front of City Hall to urge the commission to reject the 287g contract, which they say erodes community trust, exposes the city to legal and financial risk and undermines public safety. Oh, and that the city has no legal obligation to perform federal immigration enforcement duties.
They cite Florida statute 908.11, which says that only a “sheriff or the chief correctional officer operating a county detention facility must enter into a written agreement with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement to participate in the immigration program established under s. 287(g).”
Miami does not operate a county detention facility and is therefore not legally required to participate in the program, these community leaders say. And Miami-Dade, which does operate county detention facilities, is already holding immigrants with deportation orders for ICE and will consider a 287g agreement on June 26.
Read related: Miami-Dade could go above and beyond to help ICE with local detainees
Even Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak admitted, when asked, that the agreement is not mandated. “Do we have to sign this? Legally? No,” Hudak said at a commission meeting earlier this year. But they did anyway.
Detractors say that deputizing local cops to carry out federal immigration duties would not only increase the financial burden on taxpayers and the city’s exposure to legal liability — can you imagine if they detain a citizen or legal resident, as has been done? — but also undermines public safety because, oops, there goes all the community policing progress made in the last two decades. Crimes will go unreported. People won’t want to cooperate as victims or witnesses.
You can’t have community policing when you are asking people for their papers.
“City of Miami officials need to prioritize their fiduciary duty to protect the financial interests and well-being of residents, and taxpayers should not foot the bill for these hostile enforcement practices that will inevitably lead to lawsuits, costing taxpayers even more money,” said Tessa Petit, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC).
“They must also remember that they were elected to protect their communities, not divide nor endanger them.”
Other organizations who are going to protest the measure Tuesday morning include the ACLU of Florida, the Family Action Network Movement (FANM), Community Justice Project and Black Men Build.
“The proposed 287(g) agreement is a reckless betrayal of the very people the City of Miami is supposed to protect,” said Paul Christian Namphy, policy director and lead organizer at FANM. “Turning local police into federal immigration agents will not make us safer—it will tear families apart, erode community trust, and expose the city to costly legal consequences.
“Miami is a city of immigrants. We cannot allow fear, profiling, and political games to replace compassion, justice, and common sense. This contract must be rejected,” Namphy said in a statement. “Let local law enforcement do its job!”
City of Miami officials could wait until the city of South Miami gets an answer to the lawsuit it filed against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in March and is asking a judge to rule on whether or not city cops are obligated to question and arrest illegals for the feds.
“The only safe harbor left for us is to go to court and ask a court to render an opinion on what the law is and what our obligations are. Not the merits of the policy,” South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez said at a meeting in March. “It’s a narrow question.”
“I think the answer is 100% clear,” Fernandez said Sunday on WPLG Local 10’s This Week In South Florida with Glenna Milberg. “This is an optional decision. It’s not a mandate.”
He said DeSantis has waged a campaign to force cities on board so he can boast having the toughest enforcement in the nation. Also, the city already cooperates with ICE as required under Chapter 908, a city spokesman said.
Read related: Video blasts U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez for silence on ending TPS, deportations
“We should live by the rule of law, and we’re trying to reshape the law to fit an agenda,” said Fernandez, an attorney, adding that the “commandeering” of the police department will hurt officer recruitment and exposes the city to liability. The agreement “does not offer any sort of indemnification,” he said.
Fernandez also echoed the warning that using local police as the “tip of the spear” on these federal immigration actions will change the relationship between cops and the community and said that all we have to do is look at the protests in Los Angeles.
South Miami City Spokesman Brandon Diaz said the lawsuit “seeks to determine whether signing the agreement is a legal obligation or if it can continue supporting ICE operations under existing state law, as it currently does.” State Attorney General James Uthmeier — who told Fort Meyers city officials that they were acting outside the state law when they outright refused to enter into a 287g agreement (they folded) — has responded by filing a motion to dismiss.
“In turn, the City intends to file an amended complaint seeking to have the substantive issue regarding the City’s obligations with respect to the 287(g) agreement determined by a court as expeditiously as possible,” Diaz told Ladra last week.
So, Miami commissioners have clear political cover. They can wait. They can defer it indefinitely. But will they?
Mayor Fernandez is a Democrat, a former state rep for two terms. It might just come naturally for him to challenge DeSantis. Three of the commissioners in Miami — Joe Carollo, Miguel Gabela and Ralph Rosado — are Republicans in non-partisan offices that are often turned partisan. And Carollo, who has threatened to run for mayor, has praised Donald Trump on the radio in his daily show on America Radio 1260 AM.
Ladra sees this vote possibly falling on partisan lines. However, Rosado, who was just elected earlier this month — and the vote on the 287g contract was deferred weeks ago after Manolo Reyes‘ death to wait for a replacement on the dais — is seen as a possible swing vote. He has been all over the board on this one. Some people think he’s a yes vote. Others say he may be a no.
The Miami commission meeting, and it’s a long one, starts at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, and can also be seen on the city’s website.
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