‘No need to be afraid’: New Doral top cop says focus will be traffic, not immigration
The Doral City Council approved an employment agreement on Wednesday for incoming Police Chief Matthew Castillo, who is scheduled to be sworn in on June 17 following the resignation of outgoing Chief Edwin Lopez.
Lopez is leaving Doral to become chief of the Miami Police Department.
Castillo will take over the Doral Police Department after serving for 17 months as chief of the Miami Springs Police Department, the agency where he built his law enforcement career.
Castillo, 42, was selected by Doral City Manager Zeida Sardiñas to serve as the next police chief with the backing of Mayor Christi Fraga, and the City Council unanimously approved his employment agreement on Wednesday. The contract sets his annual salary at $240,000, a significant increase from the roughly $154,500 he currently earns as chief of the Miami Springs Police Department.
Castillo told the council one of the reasons he wanted to go to Doral as chief is because the city has similar issues as Miami Springs.
He said many of the strategies he implemented in Miami Springs were shaped by the city’s “unique” challenges, particularly traffic congestion along the Northwest 36th Street corridor next to Miami International Airport.
“One of the main problems in Miami Springs was traffic, and traffic was a big problem for us, for the residents,” Castillo said. “And I was deeply affected by it because I lived there. Anything that happened, traffic-related to the residents, it affected me.”
Castillo said as many as 60% of the Miami Springs department’s calls for service originated along the Northwest 36th Street corridor, a commercial area lined with hotels.
“I wanted to make sure that we tackled that head on,” Castillo said.
In a prior interview with the Miami Herald, Castillo said that after becoming chief in Miami Springs, he implemented a proactive crime-reduction strategy centered on technology, including license plate readers at all entry and exit points of the city, an expanded network of live surveillance cameras, targeted deployment strategies and data-driven policing practices.
Immigration enforcement
During Castillo’s tenure, the Miami Springs Police Department, which has just 47 sworn officers, became one of the most active local law enforcement agencies in Miami-Dade County participating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement through the 287(g) program, which deputized some of its police officers to carry out immigration enforcement actions.
According to data compiled by the Florida Board of Immigration Enforcement, iami Springs, home to around 13,000 residents, reported 75 immigration-related encounters between August and May. Those encounters resulted in 50 arrests, including 16 classified as immigration arrests, placing Miami Springs among the most active municipalities in Florida participating in the program despite its relatively small population.
READ MORE: How a tiny police force in Miami-Dade posted big immigration arrest numbers
State data shows Miami Springs’ immigration-arrest rate exceeds that of most larger municipalities across Florida. In Miami-Dade County, Sunny Isles Beach, with about 22,000 residents, recorded the highest number of immigration arrests, totaling 32. In South Florida, Boynton Beach, a city of more than 83,000 residents, ranked second with 20 immigration arrests.
Castillo said Wednesday “there’s no need to be afraid.”
“We don’t enforce immigration status, we enforce the law, and in Miami Springs we’ve never had one resident that was detained for any type of immigration issue,” Castillo said. “If you break the law, and you’re a career offender, then all we did was check the boxes, and they’re at the jail.”
Fraga said residents will not see a shift in policing under Castillo’s leadership.
“We’ve never had immigration raids conducted by our police department,” Fraga said. “Nor do we stop people because of immigration checking or anything like that that is our policy as a police department.”
She added: “We do follow federal and state laws, if you are driving without a driver’s license, that is a crime; if you are driving without the correct credentials that is a crime, and so I would just advise people first not to be scared. We’re not going out there doing anything different from what we’ve ever done, but we have always followed the law. We have a zero tolerance for crime. And that policy will continue.”
During the council vote approving Castillo’s contract, Council Member Rafael Pinyero said there had been “misinformation and misleading information” circulating about Castillo’s record in Miami Springs.
Asked by the Herald to clarify, Pinyero said: “I didn’t say it because of the Miami Herald report, I said it because, unfortunately, there were social media outlets that spread misinformation or misinterpreted the report.
“They tried to create chaos in a community that is already suffering—a community where people are afraid to get in their cars, drive to the corner store, or take their children to school” Pineyro said. “We simply cannot exploit such a sensitive issue—affecting a community that is already suffering and worried—to spread falsehoods. As a council member of Venezuelan origin—the only one—and someone who advocates for TPS for Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, and other communities, I simply will not allow this issue to be toyed with.”
Leadership changes
Among the changes expected within the Doral Police Department is the addition of Deputy Chief Jonathan Dweck, a 24-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, who currently serves as a pilot and instructor in its aviation unit and is also scheduled to be sworn in on June 17.
Although the City Clerk did not provide official employment records, Dweck told the Herald his salary will be $170,000, a reduction from his current pay of more than $200,000 at the sheriff’s office.
He said he has extensive experience in high-risk units, robbery intervention, gang investigations, homeland security and crime suppression teams, as well as joint task force work with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Dweck, 43, a Doral resident, said Castillo’s decision to hire him reflected a focus on community ties.
Castillo “sees how being a resident and actually serving the community you live in, you have a personal tie to see the success for all the residents in your city, as for your own family.”
He added that he intends to bring countywide experience into Doral’s operations.
“I’m going to continue to add on top of what Chief Lopez has already created and the current command,” he said.
Current Deputy Chief Alice Neil will transition to executive officer under the department’s new leadership structure, replacing Ricardo Arenas, who is departing the agency alongside López. Arenas, who currently serves as executive officer, is expected to join López at the Miami Police Department.
Castillo’s appointment sparked criticism from a resident who questioned the city’s continued practice of hiring police chiefs from outside the organization rather than promoting from within.
Doral resident Richard Glukstad told council members that every police chief in Doral’s history has been recruited from outside the department.
“No Doral police officer has ever been promoted from within to serve as chief,” Glukstad said. “Thanks to the efforts of Chief Edwin Lopez, the Doral Police Department has become a highly successful and, most importantly, diverse organization. Today, the department has a Black female assistant chief of police and a distinguished major, Leonel Ochoa, a Bronze Star recipient of Colombian and Cuban heritage.”
Glukstad argued that repeatedly overlooking internal candidates sends a negative message to the department’s rank-and-file officers.
“The men and women of the Doral Police Department may feel they are never fully trusted, as displayed by the history of outside hiring of this chief of police.” Glukstad said. “The history of not hiring our best from within negatively affects morale and level of service to citizens.“
This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 4:07 PM.
