Tuesday's release of the Department of Homeland Security's plan on combating undocumented immigrants could impact law enforcement in South Florida.
As part of the directive from DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement would be instructed to revive the 287(g) Program, which would allow immigration officials to recruit local police officers and sheriff's deputies to help with deportation, essentially making them de facto immigration agents.
But City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado says not in his town.
"The City of Miami has never participated in any of these projects and if we are asked, we will respectfully decline," Regalado said Tuesday. "We are a municipal police force and we will not be part of any federal immigration task force or army."
According to the DHS memos, the revival would allow for a broader partnership where local law enforcement can assist in identifying undocumented immigrants who have only committed a crime.
The memo even states that all precautions would be taken to avoid racial profiling which would be completely unacceptable.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who was in Jacksonville Tuesday, stated that the county will absolutely not be entering into the program, reiterating what he said last week.
"We will not, we have never been, we are not now, we will never be immigration officers," Gimenez said.
The director of the Miami-Dade Police Department released a statement Tuesday following the DHS release.
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"At this time, there are no changes to the manner in which we serve our community. The Miami-Dade Police Department will not be participating in the revitalization of the 287(g) Program. However, we remain committed to participating in joint ventures that address criminal activity within our community," the statement read.
The Broward Sheriff's Office had no official comment on the matter Tuesday.
According to the memo a strategy on the new task force agreement is being developed.
