Stop the political hijacking of Miami-Dade’s future for a presidential library | Opinion
The governor of Florida has earned a reputation for advancing policies that not only are anti-immigrant in spirit, but deeply damaging in practice, and especially to the very communities that form the backbone of Florida’s largest cities. Nowhere is this more evident than in Miami-Dade County, the most populous in the state, where more than two-thirds of people who live here were born in another country.
Earlier this year, the governor championed legislation that drastically raised tuition for thousands of undocumented students — young people who were brought to this country by their parents in search of a better life. This was a direct assault on the future of our youth, many of whom are striving to succeed despite immense challenges. Unfortunately, the governor’s campaign against immigrants and their children did not end there.
Just days ago, Tallahassee announced plans to take control of a critically important parcel of land in downtown Miami, land secured years ago by Miami Dade College to serve its growing student body. Now, Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies want to transform this valuable public asset into the future site of the Trump Presidential Library.
This is not just a land dispute. It’s a direct theft of educational opportunity for political gain.
This land sits adjacent to Miami Dade College and the historic Freedom Tower — two symbols of opportunity and the immigrant story in America. To wedge between them a monument to a president known for his disdain toward immigrants is not only tone-deaf, but also insulting to our community and everything it stands for.
Miami Dade College has long served as the launching pad for hundreds of thousands of students, many of them first-generation Americans. Stripping MDC of this property, worth tens of millions of dollars, deprives future students of the classrooms, resources and programs that this land was meant to support.
We, as a community, must ask: What public benefit will come from turning over land meant for education into a political shrine? What will students gain? Who profits, and at what cost?
It is our responsibility, especially those among us who have benefited from a Miami Dade College education, to speak out. This land was never the governor’s to give away. It belongs to the people. It belongs to the students. It belongs to the future.
We should not stay silent. Rather, we should resist this political hijacking of our community’s future.
Miguel “Mike” B. Fernandez is the CEO of MBF Healthcare Partners in Coral Gables. He is a Cuban-American community activist and philanthropist.