Doral’s city attorney said Tuesday that the city’s elected officials cannot so much as hold a public discussion about whether the city should continue to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. His given rationale: a vague possibility that ICE might get upset or that Florida’s attorney general might disapprove.
Maureen Porras, the city council member who proposed discussing the city’s 287(g) agreement — the pact that formalizes Doral’s cooperation with ICE operations — says City Attorney Lorenzo Cobiella’s arguments against her idea amount to nonsense.
Their disagreement came a week after the city voted overwhelmingly for Democrats on Election Day, in a dramatic shift from President Donald Trump’s 22-point victory in the city just two years ago.
Cobiella said the item would be kept off of the City Council’s agenda indefinitely out of concerns the state government might punish Doral.
READ MORE: Is Doral required to keep its ICE agreement? Activists, mayor disagree
“He’s blocking my ability as a Council member to bring forward legislation without any justification,” Porras told New Times in phone call Tuesday.
When asked about next steps, Porras was succinct.
“We’re looking at legal options,” she said.
ICE fears cripple Doral community, economy
Trump’s immigration policies have taken a heavy toll on Doral. The city has one of the largest Venezuelan diaspora populations in the United States — the largest group to lose Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in November 2025. Some local businesses have since reported revenue shortfalls between 40% and 70%, according to reports by Truthout and CBS Miami. In turn several local restaurants have closed and events like Doral’s Oktoberfest have been canceled.
Porras said she decided to file the item after several weeks of discussions with community members. Other members of city government were unwilling to address the issue, she said.
“They don’t want to discuss it publicly,” she said.
In an email after the federal government revoked TPS for Venezuelans, Doral Mayor Christi Fraga called the Trump administration’s decision “difficult and heartbreaking” but maintained that the city’s hands were tied on 287(g).
While protests over the agreement continued throughout 2026, elected officials didn’t budge. Fraga, a Republican, has continued her support of Trump and co-hosted a black-tie fundraiser at his Doral hotel and golf course earlier this fall.
Why city attorney says Doral can’t pull out of ICE partnership
In emails obtained by New Times, City Attorney Cobiella gave Porras several reasons for pushing the item to a later date.
First, he cited a city ordinance that stipulates any item with a fiscal impact on the city be submitted two weeks before the meeting where it will be addressed, so that anyone impacted by the item has an opportunity to review it.
Porras said she believes the city charter requires seven days’ notice for a measure such as her proposal. Cobiella did not respond to New Times’ request for further comment.
Second, Cobiella cited possible legal and financial consequences to ending the 287(g) agreement. He wrote that an analysis could not be completed in the time given, but did not provide a timeline for doing so. He also raised a concern that the move could be “construed by ICE as an anticipatory repudiation of the City’s obligations.”
He listed examples in Key West, Fort Myers, Orlando and Tampa where Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier claimed elected officials violated state laws against “sanctuary cities” by withdrawing from immigration enforcement agreements.
In her original memo, Porras brought up South Miami’s challenge to Uthmeier’s claims. Cobiella countered that, because that city never entered into a 287(g) agreement, the calculus for its case was different.
Finally, Cobiella wrote that Doral “has not taken any steps to implement the agreement,” including “training officers or taking any enforcement actions.”
This story was originally published by Miami New Times and is republished by WLRN as part of a content-sharing partnership between the two news organizations.
