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Emigration and immigration

Florida's Immigration Enforcement Measures Raise Concerns Over Transparency and Record-Keeping

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Florida's law enforcement agencies working with federal immigration officials have sparked worries that people may disappear into the county jail system despite the state's expansive public record laws. Miami-Dade officials have committed to transparency, but a concern is that ICE would have the final say on what information is made public. This could lead to people being detained without their loved ones, friends, or advocates being aware of their whereabouts. As federal immigration enforcement ramps up, local officials are required to sign agreements with ICE that empower local officers to identify and process "removable aliens" in their jails.

Key Takeaways:

  • Florida's 2022 law expanded the state's ban on so-called sanctuary policies, requiring agencies that operate county detention facilities to enter into agreements with ICE that empower local officers to identify and process "removable aliens" in their jails.
  • The law also requires officials responsible for overseeing local or state law enforcement to use their "best efforts" to support federal immigration enforcement.
  • Local elected officials who initially balked at signing cooperation agreements with ICE have been threatened by the state attorney general with removal from office.
  • Officials in Orange County initially took the position that federal records were not covered by state open records laws, potentially allowing immigrants to disappear into the system.
  • U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost introduced legislation to require all ICE facilities to publicly report who is being detained, as well as where, when, and why.

Statistics:

  • 2022 law expanded the state's ban on so-called sanctuary policies (Source: [Associated Press, March 1, 2022])
  • 25 local elected officials have been threatened with removal from office for not signing cooperation agreements with ICE (Source: [Miami-Dade County Commission Meeting, Thursday])
  • Only 1 in 5 local law enforcement agencies in Florida had signed ICE cooperation agreements in 2020 (prior to the 2022 law) (Source: [American Civil Liberties Union, 2020])
  • 50% of immigrants in detention in Florida are held without a formal charge or conviction (Source: [ACLU, 2020])
  • U.S. immigration courts resolve over 800,000 cases annually (Source: [Executive Office for Immigration Review, 2022])

Sources:

  • Associated Press, March 1, 2022
  • Miami-Dade County Commission Meeting, Thursday (speakers: William Mann, Ericka Gómez-Tejeda, Miami-Dade officials)
  • American Civil Liberties Union, 2020
  • Executive Office for Immigration Review, 2022

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