Reaction to Trump library deal near Freedom Tower shows partisanship | Opinion
As a trustee of Miami Dade College, I recently voted to transfer land owned by the college to facilitate the construction of the Donald Trump Presidential Library.
The reaction to this decision has exposed how blindly partisan some in our community have become.
It is striking that many of the same voices opposing an American presidential library had no problem celebrating the establishment of the Chinese government’s Confucius Institute at Miami Dade College — an institute directly financed by the propaganda department of the Chinese Communist Party.
The Confucius Institute was so closely tied to Chinese intelligence that the FBI visited our campus to express its concerns.
One of my first successful actions as a trustee was to get rid of that institute, and I remain proud of that decision. Yet those who now denounce the presidential library resisted those efforts and offered no support in removing the Chinese government’s foothold at MDC.
Even more striking is that critics of the Trump Library point to immigration as a reason for their opposition. The facts, however, tell a different story.
Under President Barack Obama, nearly 3 million people were deported — about a million more than under President Trump, whose administration oversaw approximately 2 million deportations, the majority of which were voluntary departures. I doubt the same argument would be made if the land were being transferred for the Obama Presidential Library.
Another argument raised is that it is an affront to place the Trump Library next to the Freedom Tower. Yet those making this claim did nothing of substance to turn the Freedom Tower into the museum we just inaugurated, even though the building has been in public hands since 2005.
It was this Board of Trustees, working with President Madeline Pumariega and myself, that secured $25 million from Gov. Ron DeSantis to make the restoration a reality.
If the Freedom Tower truly mattered to those now using it as a political talking point, they would acknowledge that it will only benefit from greater attention and visitors once the presidential library is built.
The fact is, a presidential library will bring significant benefits to Miami, to our students and to the neighboring Freedom Tower.
Miami became the capital of Latin America thanks to Cuban exiles and the “Wall Street of the South” thanks to economic migrants from the north.
Now, with a presidential library, Miami would also cement its status as a center of American political life — hosting debates, fostering dialogue and giving even its critics a permanent symbol to oppose.
For Cuban Americans in particular, this moment carries special meaning. The Freedom Tower — the tallest building in the city when our families first arrived — now stands dwarfed by the skyline we helped build. To see it joined by a presidential library is a testament to that progress and a point of pride.
It is time to put aside partisan agendas and manufactured outrage. Miami has always been a city that looks forward. Let us embrace this opportunity to elevate Miami into its rightful place as the city of the future.
Marcell Felipe is an attorney who serves on the Board of Trustees at Miami Dade College and is the chairman of the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora in Miami.
