Miami

Broward Not a ‘Sanctuary City,' Will Follow Immigration Laws: Mayor

While most of the focus has been on Miami-Dade in the "sanctuary city" issue, Broward County officials say they will continue to follow immigration laws as they have done in the past.

Unlike other places deemed sanctuary cities, Broward has never taken a position of being a sanctuary county and officials say they've never had an issue with Immigration and Customs Enforcement when it comes to handing over detainees.

"If you are arrested and you're going through the process and ICE says, "hey, detain them," then they are being detained. Our sheriff's office is not violating or going against any policies or going against ICE," Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief told NBC 6 Friday.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would strip federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities that release detainees despite immigration holds.

County officials said undocumented immigrants who have a run-in with the law in Broward will not be set free if they post bond.

"Broward County, we've never done that, we have the federal policies and guidelines that we follow and we have our state policies and guidelines that we follow," Sharief said.

Sharief said she's confident the county is in compliance, and will not lose federal funds due to President Trump's executive order.

"Broward County is committed to making sure its residents are safe and secure and making sure that anyone who commits a crime is punished and goes through the system the way they're supposed to," Sharief said.

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