Hialeah police officers will soon assist federal immigration agents in enforcing immigration laws, as part of a controversial new state policy signed last month.
The decision aligns the city with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s push for greater local- federal cooperation on immigration enforcement.
The agreement, known as 287-G, allows local law enforcement officers to receive training from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and access a database of undocumented individuals flagged for detention. While participation in the program is technically optional, many South Florida police departments are signing on, with the potential consequences of opting out remaining unclear.
On Tuesday, Hialeah City Council members defended their decision to approve the agreement, dismissing concerns from immigration advocates about potential overreach.
“Many might want to go out and put fear-mongering out there so that everyone gets nervous, but tomorrow morning it will be business as usual in the City of Hialeah,” said Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo.
Council Vice President Luis Rodriguez echoed similar sentiments, arguing against accusations that the policy would break up families.
“The misinformation will be that now we will be actively separating families, babies will be crying as we tear their parents out of their arms,” Rodriguez said. “Nothing of the sort.”
Hialeah Police Chief George Fuente emphasized that officers will be trained to understand ICE protocols and the legal limitations of their role.
“This agreement will have me select however many officers I select to train, to allow to be trained, by immigration, to understand their protocols and what can and can’t be done when it comes to certain operations that they perform,” Fuente stated.
Hialeah joins other South Florida cities, including Davie, Sunny Isles, Palm Beach Gardens, and Coral Gables, in agreeing to assist federal immigration authorities. Florida now leads the nation in the number of law enforcement agencies participating in the program, with all 67 sheriff’s departments across the state signing on.
South Florida police ‘didn’t sign up to be ICE’
However, not all law enforcement leaders support the initiative. Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony made it clear that his department would not expand its role in immigration enforcement.
“I didn’t sign up to be ICE. My patch doesn’t say ICE. My patch is Broward County,” Tony said at a recent press conference.
Similarly, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw stated that his department would continue its existing practice of cooperating with ICE regarding undocumented individuals in county jails but would not dedicate deputies to proactive immigration enforcement.
“You don’t need to be afraid. If you’re not a bad guy, you haven’t committed a crime, or you’re not one of the people that’s here illegally that’s a convicted murderer, there’s no problem,” Bradshaw told the Sun Sentinel.
Tony warned that expanding immigration enforcement could damage relationships between law enforcement and immigrant communities, making residents less likely to report crimes or cooperate with investigations.
Asked if he would create a task force dedicated to working with ICE, Tony’s response was clear: “The answer is: absolutely not.”
