Mayor: Miami-Dade jail to heed immigration detainer requests
Miami-Dade County’s mayor instructed jail officials in that South Florida community on Thursday to honour all immigration detainer requests, a day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would strip federal funding from sanctuary cities.
Mayor Carlos Gimenez sent a memo to the county’s corrections director saying jails should hold undocumented immigrants detained by police and turn them over to the Department of Homeland Security when requested.
Trump seemed to approve of Miami-Dade’s decision, saying in a tweet late Thursday: “Miami-Dade Mayor drops sanctuary policy. Right decision. Strong!”
Before Thursday, Miami-Dade only held detainees if federal immigrations officials agreed to reimburse the county for the detention costs. The condition set in 2013 put the county in a Department of Justice report that listed sanctuary places that refused to comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.