{"id":361918,"date":"2026-08-03T22:16:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T22:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/361918\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T22:16:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T22:16:12","slug":"activists-renew-calls-for-miami-to-end-287g-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/361918\/","title":{"rendered":"Activists renew calls for Miami to end 287(g) agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"

With thousands of Haitians in South Florida facing uncertainty<\/a> after losing their work authorizations last week, activists are renewing their calls to Miami\u2019s elected officials to rescind the city\u2019s immigration enforcement agreement with ICE.<\/p>\n

On Monday, about a dozen organizers gathered outside City Hall to call on Mayor Eileen Higgins and city commissioners to end the 287(g) agreement the city entered into<\/a> last summer despite overwhelming public outcry. The federal program empowers local law enforcement officers to carry out immigration enforcement actions.<\/p>\n

State Rep. Angie Nixon specifically called on Higgins, a Democrat in an officially nonpartisan post, saying \u201cthis is not just about Republicans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not the only ones fueling this,\u201d said Nixon, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. \u201cWe need to pay attention, because there are some Democrats who need to have the political courage to stand up and do the right thing. And so I am asking Mayor Higgins and all of the city council members to end this agreement and start allowing people to be healthy, to be prosperous and safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Higgins was not yet mayor at the time the City Commission entered into the agreement, activists pointed out that she criticized the city\u2019s decision to enter the 287(g) agreement during her campaign.<\/p>\n

Since her election in December, Higgins has affirmed that she supports<\/a> ending the city\u2019s ICE partnership. But without a vote on the five-member City Commission, her powers are somewhat limited. While Higgins could bring forward legislation of her own to end 287(g), it would go nowhere without support from three city commissioners willing to vote for it.<\/p>\n

\"City Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins speaks at a City Commission meeting on Thursday, July 9, 2026. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

In a statement to the Miami Herald, the mayor reiterated her position Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince my campaign and since taking office, I have made clear to the community that we must treat all residents humanely and with dignity, which is why I said the City should revisit the 287(g) agreement,\u201d Higgins said. \u201cSince then, the Commission held a discussion at the end of June, and I look forward to a legislative item reaching my desk so I can sign it swiftly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Higgins is referring to a meeting earlier this summer<\/a> where the City Commission appeared to teeter on the edge of calling for a vote to undo 287(g), with three out of five commissioners saying they were open to rescinding 287(g). The support for doing so was bipartisan on the officially nonpartisan commission, with Commissioner Rolando Escalona, a Republican, joining Commissioners Christine King and Damian Pardo, both Democrats, in expressing a willingness to end the city\u2019s partnership with ICE.<\/p>\n

\"City Miami Commissioner Rolando Escalona becomes emotional at a City Commission meeting where residents spoke out against the city\u2019s 287(g) agreement with ICE, on Thursday, June 25, 2026. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

During that meeting, City Manager James Reyes said just two Miami police officers are trained under 287(g) and emphasized that Miami police are not doing any profiling, nor are they asking people about their immigration status.<\/p>\n

City Attorney George Wysong warned commissioners that severing the 287(g) agreement would jeopardize approximately $7.5 million in state funding the city receives. But King said if that were to happen, \u201cwe will figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c$7.5 million is worth saving a life, a family,\u201d King said at the time. \u201cWe\u2019ll make it up some kind of way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, none of the commissioners called for a vote. The commission is now in recess for the summer, with the next meeting scheduled for September.<\/p>\n

\"Activist Activist Thomas Kennedy speaks outside Miami City Hall to call on city officials to end Miami’s 287(g) agreement with ICE, especially now that Haitians have lost TPS, on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald <\/p>\n

With just a couple Miami police officers trained under 287(g), and a mayor and city manager who are not aligned<\/a> with the federal government\u2019s immigration enforcement crackdown agenda, there are questions about how much would change, practically speaking, if the city were to undo the 287(g) agreement.<\/p>\n

Speaking outside City Hall on Monday, Arianne Betancourt, whose work with the Workers Circle nonprofit includes connecting people with their family members in detention, said that because of the city\u2019s participation in 287(g), \u201cpeople are afraid to call the police for help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people in power need to do what they were elected to do and to represent their constituents,\u201d Betancourt said. \u201cAnd we are saying it once more: Enough is enough. 287(g) needs to end now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas Kennedy of the Florida Immigrant Coalition said the goal is not to pick a fight with Miami police. But the \u201cformalized collaboration\u201d between the city\u2019s police and ICE, he said, \u201cis disturbing and fear-inducing for our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCity officials can offer just a little bit of relief to our community and families,\u201d Kennedy said, \u201cby exiting this needless and stupid 287(g) agreement that\u2019s causing so much grief and anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Florida Florida Senate candidate Angie Nixon speaks outside Miami City Hall to call on city officials to end Miami’s 287(g) agreement with ICE on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald <\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Tess Riski covers Miami City Hall. She joined the Miami Herald in 2022 and has covered local politics throughout Miami-Dade County. She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School\u2019s Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With thousands of Haitians in South Florida facing uncertainty after losing their work authorizations last week, activists are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-361918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}