The Key Biscayne Council on Tuesday deferred a proposal to grant immigration enforcement powers to local cops, a move being demanded by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The deferral may have marked a defining moment for Council Member Nancy Stoner during her brief tenure as an elected official: She created a consensus and circumvented Mayor Joe Rasco, who appeared ready to vote on the issue placed on the agenda by Manager Steve Williamson and Police Chief Frank Sousa.
President Donald Trump has targeted immigrants, even those here legally, sending some to a notorious prison in El Salvador and forcing others to endure subhuman conditions in Immigration & Customs Enforcement detention centers. Conditions at the Krome Detention Center have also drawn criticism locally, with Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava asking for a tour.
Williamson and Sousa supported signing what is known as a 287(g) agreement. It authorizes ICE to call on state and local law enforcement officers for assistance.
Former Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey, during public comments, asked his former colleagues to defer the issue, noting nearby South Miami has filed suit, asking a judge to decide whether municipalities can be forced to sign the agreement.
Stoner wasted no time in asking the item be deferred. “I need more time. It’s a complicated agreement,” she said.
Stoner wanted Council Member Michael Bracken — who had dialed in by phone — to be physically present before there was a vote
Mayor Joe Rasco pushed back. “Are you saying not even talk about it tonight?” When Stoner said yes, the mayor retorted, “Well, I have a problem with that” and told her she didn’t have consensus either way.
Bracken spoke up at that moment, also asking the matter be postponed until next month. Council Members Fernando Vazquez and Frank Caplan agreed. Rasco and Vice Mayor Oscar Sardiñas voted against deferring the item.
READ MORE: DeSantis warns he has 'tools' including suspending local officials if they don't cooperate with ICE
DeSantis has threatened to remove elected officials from office if they do not sign the 287(g) agreement. In Fort Myers, the Council capitulated after hesitating over racial profiling concerns.
Key Biscayne has asked federal and state governments for nearly $9 million this year to address flooding around the elementary school, an artificial reef study, police radios, according to Rasco’s recent newsletter to residents.
State grants and loans are a key component to funding the Big Dig infrastructure project that aims to replumb the island, bury utility lines and fortify the coast, among other things.
Williamson told the Independent that Key Biscayne has a small force of 36 and that maybe one or two officers would undergo the training. He said he would restrict local police to only use their new immigration authority when participating in ICE operations.
However, on Tuesday, a story broke that a Colombian student at the University of Florida had been pulled over for expired plates and ended up being handed over to ICE by Gainesville police.
South Miami is the only municipality that has challenged the 287(g) program in court.
Resident Patricio Romano, during public comments, urged Williamson to speak with South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez. She feared Key Biscayne police would be “expected to question nannies, domestic workers, restaurant service workers, construction workers and others visiting our Village.”
The lawsuit filed by South Miami questions the liability associated with turning local police into ICE agents.
Romano noted that many of the foreign-born residents on Key Biscayne are wealthy and have high-priced lawyers. “Just a few false arrests, which I guarantee will happen, may result in serious legal costs for our Village,” she said.
Davey told the Council it was common sense to wait until the South Miami litigation had gone through the courts.
“The state shouldn’t be threatening municipalities to get them to enter into these agreements,” he said.
Resident Michele Estevez, though, agreed with the agreement, saying she trusted Police Chief Sousa to do the right thing.
This story was originally published in the Key Biscayne Independent, a WLRN News partner.
