Miami-Dade Mayor Puts An End To 'Sanctuary' Policy


Miami-Dade is no longer a "sanctuary" county, after Republican Mayor Carlos Gimenez directed local jails on Jan. 26 to cooperate with federal orders regarding immigration.

Gimenez sent out the order after President Donald Trump signed an executive action the previous day to withhold federal funding from cities and counties that refuse to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainment requests, reports the Miami Herald.

"In light of the provisions of the Executive Order, I direct you and your staff to honor all immigration detainer requests received from the Department of Homeland Security," Gimenez wrote in a memo to Daniel Junior, the interim director of the corrections and rehabilitation department.

Miami-Dade has never officially considered itself to be a "sanctuary" city despite its Justice Department designation as one. The reason the county does not comply with immigration orders to indefinitely detain inmate immigrants in the country illegally is for financial reasons, because the federal government does not fully reimburse for the associated costs.

Jailing all applicable inmates in 2016 would have cost the county an estimated $52,000, but the county is expecting to receive an estimated $355 million from the federal government in 2017.

"I want to make sure we don't put in jeopardy the millions of funds we get from the federal government for a $52,000 issue," said Gimenez. "It doesn't mean that we're going to be arresting more people. It doesn't mean that we're going to be enforcing any immigration laws."

After a person wanted by ICE is arrested, the federal government typically requests that jails hold that person until an immigration official can pick them up, even if that means the inmate will be locked up longer than would be otherwise required.

The U.S. has more than 140 sanctuary jurisdictions, including more than 37 cities, which include San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles, notes CBS News.

Sources: Miami Herald, CBS News / Photo credit: tammon/Pixabay

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