Miami-Dade mayor visits White House as Biden tries to fight ‘defund the police’ charge

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s first White House visit coincided with a push from President Joe Biden to counteract an uptick in violent crime and a Republican attack line that Democrats favor “defunding the police.”

Levine Cava and a group of mayors met with Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday afternoon as the White House released a plan to increase enforcement by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms of illicit gun purchases and trafficking and highlighted that $350 billion in state and local funds doled out as part of a massive COVID relief bill can be used to hire additional police officers.

The meeting and new initiatives from the White House come as violent crime is increasing across the country — and has become a talking point for Republicans.

In remarks following the meeting, Biden said the recently passed $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill gives local officials the option to spend money on additional police officers and technology to fight crime. Miami-Dade County and its 34 municipalities received $1 billion from the federal government earlier this year, a windfall for state and local governments across the country that Republicans argued was too broad and too expensive. Miami-Dade County government will get about half of that amount, around $530 million.

Levine Cava said the county is preparing a draft spending proposal of federal funds earmarked for “violence prevention” though the money will be spent more broadly than just on law enforcement. She said the proposal will likely be released next month, though she was unable to provide a dollar amount and noted that the plan will need additional county and federal approval.

“We are committed to providing the resources for policing, so we’re looking at a variety of strategies for intervention and prevention,” Levine Cava said.

She also said Miami-Dade County on Wednesday was added to a previously released list of 15 metropolitan areas committed to using a portion of their COVID relief funds for community violence intervention programs in anticipation of increased violence this summer. The metro areas, including cities like Atlanta and Detroit, will work together to share information and best practices about gun violence prevention strategies that are effective.

“We’ll be part of that cohort working across the country with these other jurisdictions,” Levine Cava said.

Biden also called on Congress to pass big-ticket gun control items like a ban on assault weapons, background checks on all gun purchases and a ban of high-capacity magazines. None of those measures are likely to become law on their own as they face varying degrees of GOP opposition in the U.S. Senate, including from Florida Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio.

“Mayors have the power to help shape and enforce the laws in their cities, but they can’t control the laws in neighboring cities,” Biden said during remarks at the White House. “We’re not changing the Constitution, we’re enforcing it, being reasonable.”

In Florida, crime overall was down last year during the pandemic but violent crime increased, according to statistics released this week by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Murders were up 15% across the state and 80% of them involved a gun. But robberies, burglaries and larcenies were down between 17% and 18%, as many workers stayed home.

In South Florida, a recent wave of high-profile shootings, including mass shootings at a graduation party and concert, have made headlines and prompted calls for action.

Levine Cava said the county has already committed $7.8 million for the “Peace and Prosperity” plan over the next two years to help young people find jobs and is in the midst of “Operation Summer Heat” to better coordinate law enforcement resources.

“We know that the lion’s share of violent crime reduction work is shouldered by local...law enforcement partners,” Garland said. “Community-led efforts are vital to preventing violence before it occurs.”

But Levine Cava, who also met with Department of Transportation officials on Wednesday, acknowledged that local leaders can only do so much. Additional federal resources and attention are crucial to fight both the causes and symptoms of violent crime.

“The most important thing that I learned is that the president is very serious about this and it’s deeply personal for him given his work on justice issues and the fact that his son was attorney general in Delaware,” Levine Cava said. “We’re hopeful that between the enforcement and prevention side we can really turn things around. We want to break the cycle of gun violence.”

This story was originally published June 23, 2021 at 8:09 PM.