Community leaders in Miami want our Republican congressional delegation \u2014 Reps. Mario D\u00edaz-Balart, Carlos Gim\u00e9nez and Maria Elvira Salazar \u2014 to speak out against President Donald Trump\u2019s heavy-handed tactics in detaining immigrants and cracking down on protests.<\/p>\n
What happened in Minneapolis feels like a breaking point. Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen, was killed by federal agents<\/a> during a protest \u2014 an incident that has raised serious questions about accountability and the use of force. What happened to Pretti should alarm every American, regardless of political affiliation.<\/p>\n In Miami, of all places, this should be a no-brainer. We were built, in large part, by immigrants. Yes, securing the border is important. But so are due process and protecting our constitutional rights. After the events in Minneapolis resulting in the deaths of two people at the hands of ICE agents, speaking out is no longer optional. Our members of Congress should be leading the charge.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where a nonprofit organization called Keep Them Honest<\/a> comes in. Its mission: to advance immigrant rights by holding elected officials accountable. Unfortunately, its existence is necessary. Thankfully, we have principled individuals, at least in that organization, who are willing to put themselves on the line.<\/p>\n In a new ad campaign,<\/a> the group is demanding that Congress rein in the administration after the debacle in Minnesota. In the ads, two more community leaders have stepped up \u2014 Alberto Ibarg\u00fcen, former Miami Herald publisher and former CEO of the Knight Foundation, and Eliott Rodriguez, former WFOR CBS4 television news anchor and reporter. The ads are running in English and Spanish on television, on social media and on billboards across South Florida.<\/p>\n In \u201cSilence is not Leadership,<\/a>\u201d Rodriguez calls on elected officials to speak up, saying \u201cwhen our leaders stay silent, that silence is not leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n In \u201cDefend America,<\/a>\u201d Ibarg\u00fcen puts it bluntly: \u201cYes, we need secure borders and a rational immigration policy, but policies driven by hate and division, enforced by masked men. That\u2019s not who we are. Demand better from our representatives.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, Keep Them Honest ran a six-figure ad campaign aimed at the same members of Congress asking them to push back on Trump\u2019s mass immigration policies. Four prominent community leaders<\/a> stepped up: former Miami Dade College President Eduardo Padr\u00f3n, former Spanish-TV journalist Leticia Callava, children\u2019s rights activists David Lawrence Jr., and former WPLG Local 10 reporter Michael Putney.<\/p>\n Are the ad campaigns having any effect? Hard to know, but a few Republicans have criticized Trump immigration policies. Salazar called one previous immigration crackdown<\/a> \u201cunAmerican\u201d and sponsored an immigration reform bill called the \u201cDignity Act.\u201d On X last week, the day of the shooting, she wrote that \u201cWashington\u2019s failure on immigration is hitting our streets. Minneapolis is the result of Washington refusing to fix a broken immigration system and continuing to enforce outdated laws.\u201d<\/p>\n She also said on NewsNation Wednesday that \u201cHispanics are very, very offended\u201d because they thought Trump would focus on deporting criminals rather than \u201clumping together the gardener with the gangster and the nanny with the narco.\u201d<\/p>\n Another interesting example: Miami state Sen. Ileana Garcia, the Cuban-American co-founder of Latinas for Trump, also took to X to say that \u201cjustifying what happened<\/a> to Alex Pretti contradicts the American values the administration campaigned on.\u201d<\/p>\n