Miami police could enter immigration enforcement partnership with ICE

Tess Riski and Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald on Apr 22, 2025

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MIAMI — The city of Miami could vote this week to deputize its officers with immigration enforcement powers, joining a growing list of Miami-Dade cities that are aiding the Trump administration’s full-forced crackdown on undocumented migration.

On Thursday, the Miami City Commission is scheduled to vote to authorize the city to enter into a 287(g) agreement, specifically under the “task force” model, which would allow Miami Police Department officers to conduct immigration enforcement functions during routine work. ICE describes the model, which allows local police officers to question, arrest and detain people suspected of violating immigration law, as a “force multiplier.”

The item could be deferred to a future meeting. But if the City Commission gives the green light — whether on Thursday or at a subsequent meeting — Miami would join a half-dozen other cities in Miami-Dade to enter into 287(g) agreements so far, including Hialeah, Sweetwater, Coral Gables, West Miami, Sunny Isles Beach and Miami Springs.

The decision to enter the agreement could have a major impact in South Florida, with Miami being the largest city in Miami-Dade County and the second most populous in the state. Over half of the city’s residents are foreign-born, and more than 70% are Hispanic or Latino, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Kenia Fallat, a spokesperson for the city, said the city would be able to comment after Thursday’s meeting. The Miami Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

There are over 200 active 287(g) agreements across Florida, the most out of any state. Many local law enforcement agencies have joined the task force model, which the Obama administration eliminated in 2012 after a Department of Justice investigation found it led to racial profiling and discrimination toward Latinos. President Donald Trump resurrected it on his return to the White House this year.

Florida law requires law enforcement agencies that operate county jails to participate in 287(g) partnerships with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But nothing in the statutes explicitly requires city and municipal police departments to do so. However, Gov. Ron DeSantis has pressured local governments to join. His administration is arguing they are mandated to do so under Florida’s sanctuary city law, which bans officials from limiting cooperation on immigration enforcement with the federal government.

Local advocates and residents in South Florida have shown up to public meetings to oppose the 287(g) partnerships. They say the initiatives will erode trust in police and make communities less safe because people will not call cops to report crimes. South Florida municipalities have said signing the agreement is perfunctory and that residents shouldn’t expect to see people being targeted as a result.