DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - Several South Florida leaders gathered outside Doral City Hall to urge the city to end its partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Participants at Tuesday morning’s gathering said many hardworking families that live in Doral are staying home because they are afraid to be deported, which is affecting the city’s economy and businesses.
The leaders, including South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez, Florida lawmakers and other community leaders, called on Doral Mayor Christi Fraga and the city council to recede the city’s 287 (g) Agreement with ICE, which allows trained local officers to perform certain immigration enforcement functions under federal supervision.
Doral City Council unanimously authorized the partnership in April 2025, saying they acted based on legal guidance regarding Florida’s immigration enforcement requirements.
On Tuesday morning, Fernandez and the group said Doral’s partnership with ICE is hurting trust in law enforcement and hindering the economic impact on the city’s immigrant community.
“Hardworking people, people that run our small businesses, cook our meals, care for our elderly and build our homes, people who are contributing to our local economy did not have to be removed from our communities with our help,” Fernandez said. “But we allow this to happen when we forget who we are.”
“An entire city council voted to participate in cruelty, and now they had no idea, ‘Oh, our police don’t participate,’ well, make them participate, and more importantly, get out of the 287 (g) Agreement,” said former U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia.
Fraga said the city’s ability to intervene has been limited.
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