Civil rights groups and immigrant advocates are urging City of Miami officials to reject a proposed 287(g) agreement that would authorize local police to act as federal immigration enforcement agents in carrying out President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation strategy.
The City of Miami will debate the proposal on Tuesday during its scheduled city commission meeting, beginning at 9 a.m. Opponents of the 287(g) agreement plan to rally at Miami City Hall at 8:15 am ahead of the city commission’s vote.
The program run by U.S. Customs and Enforcement, or ICE, is decades-old and has been revived and expanded under the Trump administration. It trains local law officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation.
Supporters of the 287(g) agreements say it’s needed to assist the Trump administration's efforts to remove immigrants unlawfully in the country who are committing crimes and or accessing limited taxpayer resources that are needed for U.S. citizens or lawful immigrants.
READ MORE: South Miami mayor worries working with ICE could lead to financial liability
The number of agreements to deputize local police to enforce federal immigration laws, known as 287(g) agreements, has more than quadrupled — to about 650 — since Trump took office in January.
Almost 250 police agencies across Florida have signed the agreement, including Sheriff’s offices in all 67 counties. Florida requires sheriff departments running county jails to do so.
Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, said the city of Miami is not required by state law to participate in the 287(g) program because it does not manage a detention facility.
Jackson said the “287(g) agreements don’t make us safer—they create disorder under the illusion of security.”
“These programs have a well-documented history of racial profiling, civil rights violations, and costly litigation,” said Jackson.
“Miami residents deserve to take their children to school, shop for groceries, and commute to work without fearing that a routine day will end in detention,” Jackson said, noting half the city’s population are immigrants. “We deserve safety, not suspicion—dignity, not discrimination."
Deputizing local police to carry out federal immigration duties, says the ACLU and immigrant advocates, would be expensive, draw legal challenges in court and “undermine the public trust essential to building community safety.”
“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.
“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, Director of Policy and Lead Organizer at the Family Action Network Movement (FANM).
“Miami is a city of immigrants. We cannot allow fear, profiling, and political games to replace compassion, justice, and common sense,” Namphy said. “This contract must be rejected.”
