Doral cops would help enforce immigration laws under proposed ICE agreement
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Photo: D.A. Varela/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
The Doral City Council will decide Wednesday whether to empower its police department to help enforce federal immigration laws.
Why it matters: President Trump's immigration crackdown has heightened deportation fears in Doral, where 40% of the city is of Venezuelan descent and council members have advocated for legal protections for Temporary Protected Status holders.
Driving the news: The resolution, proposed by the police department, would authorize the city manager to enter a 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
- Doral's would be the latest South Florida police agency to sign up in recent months, amid a push from the DeSantis administration for local law enforcement to partner with ICE.
- The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office and police departments in Coral Gables, Hialeah, Sweetwater and Miami Springs have signed agreements with ICE to allow officers to interrogate suspected undocumented immigrants and make arrests.
Between the lines: If a city refuses to partner with ICE — as Fort Myers did, before reversing course — the DeSantis administration has threatened to remove elected officials from office.
- A brief memo accompanying the Doral resolution cites recent immigration laws signed by Gov. DeSantis and says that the federal and state governments are seeking "cooperation from local governments" to help enforce immigration laws.
What they're saying: Council Member Rafael Pineyro, the only Venezuelan-American on the council, told the Miami Herald that police will not target immigrants "based on how they look."
- "We are obligated to follow federal and state laws, but the goal is not to target individuals based on appearance. Our focus remains on lawful enforcement, not profiling."
What we're watching: The Herald reports that the all-Republican Doral council is expected to pass the resolution Wednesday.