SOUTH MIAMI, Fla. – South Miami Mayor Javier Fernández said he was disappointed that Key West officials had decided to allow an immigration law enforcement partnership.
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Key West commissioners had voided the city’s agreement with federal immigration law enforcement agencies on June 30 and restored it on Tuesday.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Fernández said he was hopeful that his city’s lawsuit filed in March was going to show that Florida law doesn’t “mandate” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s partnerships.
“It is our hope that following a favorable ruling, other cities can weigh the choice Key West was forced to consider without fear and free of duress,” said Fernández, a Democrat who was elected mayor in 2022.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier threatened Key West with consequences and asked a Leon County circuit judge to dismiss South Miami’s lawsuit, which remained pending on Wednesday.
Uthmeier argued that a special state legislative session passed a bill in February that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law to place “greater obligations on local governments” to help with federal immigration law enforcement.
DeSantis strongly supports ICE’s application of the Immigration and Nationality Act‘s section 287(g) to delegate federal duties to state and local law enforcement.
South Miami’s lawsuit argues the decision to avoid a 287(g) agreement has to do with liability risks and not “with agreement or disagreement” or a “desire to avoid cooperation” with DeSantis’s support of President Donald Trump’s push for deportations.
“The governor wants to say that he has got the toughest enforcement agreement in the nation,” Fernández, a Democratic former state representative, said last month during This Week In South Florida.
DeSantis also supports building new detention facilities, allowing Florida Highway Patrol troopers to work as special deputy U.S. Marshals, and Florida National Guard judge advocate generals to help in immigration court.