MIAMIA Despite the state’s extensive public record rules, family members and activists for immigrants’ rights fear that persons will be absorbed into county jail systems as Florida law enforcement agencies collaborate with federal immigration officials.
At a commission hearing on Thursday, Miami-Dade authorities stated their dedication to openness and their intention to continue adhering to state regulations concerning the disclosure of inmate information. However, ICE would have the last word over what information is made public, including whether a person is even in detention, according to some observers, and one part of an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement defines any documents and information created under the arrangement as federal records.
According to William Mann, a lawyer with the Community Justice Project, that might be a major issue.
According to Mann, many people are worried that county authorities would utilize the language in this basic ordering agreement to deny access to material for friends, family, loved ones, advocates, and media. In other words, if they were officially an ICE prisoner, they would vanish into the Miami-Dade system.
Any claims that detainees lack due process are untrue, ICE Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the Associated Press in an email.
Additionally, according to McLaughlin, every detainee is given plenty of chance to speak with their lawyers and relatives.
According to her, the ICE detainee locator is the simplest way to find someone who is in custody.
The evolution of immigration enforcement
Local and state leaders must support federal immigration enforcement, which has increased since President Donald Trump returned to office in January, with even greater vigor under Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
In addition to requiring agencies that run county detention facilities to enter into agreements with ICE that give local officials the authority to identify and process removable aliens in their jails, a 2022 law broadened the state’s prohibition on so-called sanctuary policies.
This year, another law was signed into law requiring state or local law enforcement authorities to support federal immigration enforcement to the best of their abilities. County detention facilities must also furnish a list of all prisoners and any details pertaining to their immigration status upon request from a federal agency.
As DeSantis stated earlier this year, the Florida Legislature today passed the most robust laws of any state in the nation to combat illegal immigration. When it comes to resolving the issue of illegal immigration, we are in the lead.
Florida needs federal immigration enforcement to have local support.
The state attorney general has threatened to remove local elected officials from office if they continue to refuse to sign cooperation agreements with ICE.
The board was supposed to vote on new clauses for the county’s current ICE agreement at Thursday’s Miami-Dade commission meeting, but they decided to postpone the vote and let Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to approve the agreement herself instead.
Levine Cava to the hearing attendees that she was powerless to change the situation because this agreement had to be signed in accordance with Florida law.
Any public records under the county’s jurisdiction will remain open to the public, she and a number of commissioners stated.
Miami-Dade officials have stated that they are dedicated to openness, yet until last week, federal prisoners, including those on immigration detain, were not shown in Orange County jail records.
Having trouble keeping track of records
According to Hope Community Center organizing director Ericka G. mez-Tejeda, officials in the central Florida county argued that the federal documents were exempt from state open records regulations, which meant that immigrants were essentially slipping into the system.
G mez-Tejeda brought up the example of Esvin Juarez, who was taken into custody and sent to Guatemala this month before his lawyer and family were even aware of his whereabouts. “It is deliberate to make it hard to track detained immigrants,” she claimed.
According to G. Mez-Tejeda, it’s benefiting those whose due process is being violated.
Last Monday, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings ordered the jail to start publishing details regarding ICE detainees. However, G. Mez-Tejeda stated that this would not be helpful because some of the inmates were arrested in other states or counties before being sent to Orange County.
According to G. Mez-Tejeda, some of our inmates have been transferred to four or five different detention facilities. Additionally, in every state you enter, the family must choose a lawyer to handle their legal representation and documentation. Therefore, it places a heavy burden on the family.
A bill to prevent wrongful imprisonment is proposed by a Democratic lawmaker.
This month, U.S. Representative Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from the Orlando region, filed legislation to abolish mistreatment of detainees and prevent wrongful imprisonment. It would mandate that all ICE facilities disclose to the public who is being held, along with the location, time, and reason for the detention.
Although this measure won’t solve every problem, Frost stated that Donald Trump and his supporters shouldn’t be scared to inform the public exactly what they’re doing if they believe these policies may be justified. They will report it if they are proud of it. They must stop if they feel embarrassed.
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Tallahassee-based journalist Kate Payne of the Associated Press also contributed.
