Four voices, one Miami: It’s time to stand up for our immigrant neighbors | Opinion

For generations, Miami-Dade has been defined by its immigrant spirit. Families from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela and beyond have come here seeking what America has always promised: freedom, safety, opportunity and due process under the law.

They have helped built our economy, enriched our culture and strengthened the very fabric of our society.

These are not strangers. They are our neighbors. They are us.

These days, however, many law-abiding, hardworking families live in fear — fear of being torn apart, of losing the only home their children have ever known.

Today’s immigration policies and their heavy-handed enforcement have crossed moral and constitutional lines.

People who have raised families, paid their taxes and contributed to our community are being targeted by policies and ICE agents hiding behind masks who ignore basic rights to humane treatment and due process of law.

They’re being ripped away from their families, separated from loved ones without the fundamental protections that define us as a nation: transparency, accountability and due process.

Due process is not a technicality; it is the linchpin of American justice. It is what stands between democracy and tyranny. When the government can take away someone’s freedom without giving them the opportunity to defend themselves, none of us are safe.

What is perhaps most painful is the silence from those with the power to intervene — our Representatives in Congress, Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Gimenez, Maria Elvira Salazar and other local elected officials, many of whom they themselves or their own families fled from authoritarian regimes. They know repression firsthand.

They also know the newest wave of immigrants and their invaluable role in our community. Yet, as these families are being brutally torn apart, these politicians remain silent. That silence is not leadership.

A call for courage

We take inspiration from Miami philanthropist Mike Fernández, who had the moral courage to speak out when others looked away. His example should not be an exception; it should be the standard for civic responsibility in our community.

We, too, believe in secure borders and the rule of law. But law and order must never mean cruelty and chaos.

Our nation’s greatness has always rested on a balance between security and compassion, between sovereignty and humanity.

At the heart of that balance lies due process — the promise that every person, regardless of who they are or where they come from, is entitled to fairness and dignity before the law. That is not a partisan belief. It is an American one.

The measure of Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade has always been a community of second chances — a refuge for those seeking a new beginning. That is our identity.

To remain silent now, as our immigrant neighbors are vilified and denied basic due process, betrays everything that made this community great.

We call on our fellow Miamians — civic leaders, business owners, educators, students, clergy and citizens — to find your courage and your voice.

Speak up. Stand tall. Get involved. Join us and help defend those who make this community vibrant, compassionate and strong. The measure of Miami, and of America, is not how we treat the powerful but how we treat the vulnerable.

And today, our neighbors and our values need us — all of us — to speak up for and defend them.

Leticia Callava is a veteran journalist and former anchor and reporter for Univision and Telemundo. David Lawrence, Jr., is the former publisher of the Miami Herald and the founder of the Children’s Movement of Florida. Eduardo J. Padrón is president emeritus of Miami Dade College and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Michael Putney is the longtime former senior political reporter and host of This Week in South Florida on WPLG Local 10.