The city of Miami wants to end this ICE program. Here’s why it doesn’t matter | Opinion

Before Miami’s commissioners vote to exit the city’s 287(g) partnership with ICE — and absorb the potential legal and financial consequences of doing so — they should be able to answer one straightforward question: What would it actually change?

Not much.

At last week’s commission meeting, over 50 residents pleaded with elected officials to end the city’s participation in the federal 287(g) program, warning that it had spread fear throughout immigrant communities and turned local police into immigration agents.

Those concerns deserve to be heard. But they should also be measured against reality. One year into the 287(g) agreement — under which police officers are deputized to carry out some immigration enforcement actions — the evidence suggests the city of Miami’s partnership has been implemented far more narrowly than critics portray.

According to City Manager James Reyes, only two city of Miami police officers are currently trained under the agreement. The Miami Herald reported the officers are operating on an as-needed basis — not as patrol officers stopping drivers or questioning residents about their immigration status. They become involved only after someone has already been arrested on a criminal charge.

Since the agreement took effect, WLRN reported that Reyes told commissioners the city has issued just 14 immigration detainers, all involving individuals charged with serious crimes or identified as repeat offenders.

As Reyes told commissioners: “We have not applied a detainer to an individual who did not get charged with a crime.”

A recent Herald analysis found that between August 2025 and last month, Sunny Isles Beach made 32 immigration-related arrests under 287(g) and Miami Springs made 16 immigration related detentions. By comparison, the Miami Police Department made one.

That hardly resembles the image of widespread immigration enforcement described during hours of public testimony.

There is no doubt that Immigration and Customs Enforcement — ICE — is arresting droves of people in the Miami area. ICE’s Miami field office has arrested over 41,000 people since the start of the Trump administration, more than any other field office in the country, according to a New York Times analysis. But that surge isn’t happening from two Miami officers.

Going by those numbers, if commissioners decide to exit the Miami agreement, it wouldn’t have much effect, if any, on the overall enforcement wave. The fear gripping Miami’s immigrant communities is real — but its source isn’t the city’s agreement. Exiting a federal agreement doesn’t end immigration enforcement — it could affect the city’s budget.

City Attorney George Wysong has warned that ending the agreement could cost the city roughly $7.5 million in state funding. That’s a serious calculation the commission must make. Key West and Fort Myers were reprimanded last year by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier when they rejected 287(g) agreements. Uthmeier sent letters threatening their officials with removal from office for violating Florida’s sanctuary city laws. Both cities reversed course.

Critics argue that the 287(g) partnership creates fear, discourages crime victims from calling police and erodes trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities. Those concerns are real. But public policy must account for how a program actually works, not just what it symbolizes.

Three city commissioners — Rolando Escalona, Christine King and Damian Pardo — have said they would want to exit the agreement, as long as it’s legal.

The city of South Miami pursued a federal lawsuit seeking clarification on whether municipalities were even legally required to participate; a judge dismissed it.

Miami is a city built, in many ways, by immigrants. That history must inform how our leaders approach enforcement — with fairness and respect for civil liberties. But it should also encourage decisions grounded in evidence rather than emotion.

No one should dismiss the anxiety many immigrant families feel. But in the end, the push to end Miami’s agreement is misplaced. If Miami decides to end the agreement it would be mainly symbolic. For opponents of this law, the real immigration fight is with the state of Florida and the federal government, not the city of Miami.

Mary Anna Mancuso is a member of the Miami Herald Editorial Board. Her email: mmancuso@miamiherald.com