A federal lawsuit has been filed against Miami-Dade County and Mayor Carlos Gimenez over recent policy changes regarding the detention of immigrants following their arrest.
The American Civil Liberties Union, along with the University of Miami School of Law’s Immigration Clinic and one local firm, filed the suit on behalf of 18-year-old Garland Creedle – who the suit claims was held in a March case where criminal charges were not filed against him, but was deemed to possibly be a “removable alien.”
Creedle has been a U.S. citizen since birth, the ACLU wrote in a press release.
The county started the new policy of holding illegal immigrants following an arrest so immigration officials can determine whether they needed to be deported – a policy switch that occurred after the administration of President Donald Trump threatened to cut funding for cities and areas determined to be “sanctuary cities” by the government.
"We warned the county about the dangers posed by the premature decision to cave in to the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant threats,” stated ACLU of Florida immigrants’ rights attorney Amien Kacou in their release.
"Miami-Dade County has long prided itself on being a place welcoming to immigrants, and should honor that legacy by joining other cities large and small across the country in refusing to serve as tools of overzealous immigration enforcement policy."
ACLU officials say the change adopted shortly after Trump took office violates parts of two amendments as well as a Florida law prohibiting the detention of people for civil immigration reasons.
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A spokesperson for Mayor Gimenez's office said he wouldn't be providing a comment due to the pending litigation.
