6THE CITY OF PLEASANT LIVING
OFFIce OF lxe maYOR
16 February 2017
The accompanying resolution, which creates policy related to how the South Miami
Police Department treats the subject of immigration enforcement, fits into both national
and local contexts and precedents.
Under current Federal law and Florida statutes, local law enforcement is not compelled to
participate in immigration-related investigations. Further, The US Supreme Court
determined that state law enforcement does not have the authority to arrest people for
probable cause concerning violation of immigration law (Arizona v. United States, 567
U.S. 11-182).
When an undocumented alien is charged with committing a serious felony or an
unbondable offense, our police should cooperate with other agencies to apprehend the
individual, but that need exists irrespective of the individual's immigration status: under
Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution, laws applied within our borders must apply equally to
everyone.
These matters do not strike me as abstractions -South Miami has a history that I never
wish to see repeated. Under a prior South Miami administration and Police Chief, the
South Miami Police Department (SMPD) worked with U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) to initiate or assist with the investigation, arrest, detention, and
deportation of City residents on immigration-related matters. In one case, a legal
permanent resident with a green card was investigated by the SMPD on suspicion of
immigration fraud. The SMPD arrested the individual in his home and handed him over
to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for prosecution and deportation on
immigration charges. The individual was placed in indefinite detention in a private
prison in Palm Beach County and the family had to hire a private immigration attorney at
their own expense to mount a legal defense. Eventually, the court dismissed the charge,
but only after enormous emotional and financial cost to the individual, the family, and the
community. Another individual who had lived in South Miami for 10 years without
committing any criminal act, was arrested by the SMPD, handed over to ICE, detained at
Krome for half a year, and deported to Canada in the middle of winter with no money,
and, without a jacket. On several occasions, ICE was invited to participate in DUI
checkpoints run by the SMPD, causing great anxiety among people who were stopped as
part of the DUI procedure, and resulting in the arrest of individuals lacking proper
immigration status.
Sometimes ICE has asked our Police to enter a resident's house and arrest an individual,
at gunpoint if necessary, and hand him or her over to ICE. Such actions, while
representing interagency cooperation, creates mistrust of our Police Department by City
residents. Many people came to our community as immigrants, escaping oppression in
City of South Miami I 6130 Sunset Drive I South Miami, FL 33143-5093
305.663.6338 I southmiamifl.gov
their home countries, places where police worked agents of a totalitarian regime and were
neither revered nor trusted by the people. Many of our residents would hesitate to report
a minor infraction if they believed the complaint might result in the individual's
deportation back to that country, and they would mistrust our own police department if
we were seen as complicit in such actions.
For South Miami to remain united as a community, we cannot allow divisions to widen,
we cannot turn against each other, and we must be able to trust our own Police
Department to protect us. Allowing our Police Department to be coopted as the armed
hand of a politically divisive national movement would be antithetical to our heritage as a
nation of immigrants, our unity as a community, our neighborly values, and ultimately
our personal safety.
If ICE seeks local muscle and fire power to enforce immigration law, it can find a ready
partner in the County, where the Mayor appears more pliant on such matters than myself.
The same applies to detention. A person arrested on a criminal offense in South Miami is
transported by the SMPD to the County jail, where the State's Attorney takes over
regarding prosecution, and the County's 2013 policy on court-ordered warrants and
undocumented immigrant criminals should apply.
In this context, I propose the policy revision in the accompanying resolution.
Sincerely,
Philip K. Stoddard, Ph.D.
Mayor
1 RESOLUTION NO. ___ _
2
3 A Resolution creating policy to prevent the diversion of our police
4 force into duties related to immigration enforcement.
5
6 WHEREAS, South Miami stands as a united community, neighbor supporting neighbor;
7 and
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9 WHEREAS, significant numbers of community members were brought here as children
10 by their families and have grown up as valued members of our community, irrespective of
11 official immigration status; and
12
13 WHEREAS, under current Federal law and Florida statutes, local law enforcement is not
14 compelled to participate in immigration-related investigations; and
15
16 WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court determined in 2012 that state law enforcement
17 does not have the authority to arrest people for probable cause concerning violation of
18 immigration law (Arizona v. United States, 567 U.S. 11-182); and
19
20 WHEREAS, the analysis of the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) showed that
21 immigrants are only half as likely to be incarcerated as native born Americans, and have among
22 the lowest delinquency rates of all young people; and
23
24 WHEREAS, general deportation has not proven an effective method of protecting South
25 Florida from criminal behavior. Many countries won't take criminals back, and criminals so
26 frequently find their way back after being deported to countries that will receive them; and
27
28 WHEREAS, the South Miami Police Department (SMPD) exists to serve and protect the
29 safety of all people, homes, and businesses of South Miami, including our visitors and business
30 customers; and
31
32 WHEREAS, persons arrested and charged in South Miami are transported by the SMPD
33 to the Miami-Dade County Jail, where they fall under the policies ofthe County; and
34
35 WHEREAS, in 2013, the Miami-Dade County Commission approved a policy of
36 cooperation with Immigration services for individuals served with court-issued warrant or
37 charged with committing a serious felony determined to be a real or potential threat to public
38 safety felony or an unbondable offense; and
39
40 WHEREAS, County Mayor Carlos Gimenez recently wrote: "The Miami-Dade County
41 Police Department will not actively question or seek out anyone's immigration status"; and
42
43 WHEREAS, the ability of the SMPD to protect our community depends on a spirit of
44 trust and cooperation between our police, residents, businesses, and visitors; and
45
46 WHEREAS, trust and cooperation between City police and residents, critical to the
47 mission of the SMPD, may be significantly eroded by the redirection of our municipal police
48 force into acting as agents of national immigration enforcement policy; and
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WHEREAS, the International Association of Police Chiefs (IACP) affirmed: (( ... the
IACP has, and will continue to strongly oppose any initiative that would mandate that state and
local law enforcement agencies playa role in the enforcement of federal immigration law. The
IACP believes that the issue of state, tribal, or local law enforcement's participation in
immigration enforcement is an inherently local decis'ion that must be made by law enforcement
executives, working with their elected officials, community leaders, and citizens. "
WHEREAS, the City Commission opposes the diversion of our police force into
immigration enforcement duties which may undermine the trust and cooperation needed to carry
out its chartered mission of protection, and divert resources from criminal law enforcement.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, THAT:
Section 1.
reference.
The above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by
Section 2. It shall be the policy of the City of South Miami that, matters under the
purview of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including the investigation,
arrest, detention, and deportation of individuals relating to immigration-related matters,
irrespective of actual immigration status, or the request of the South Miami Police Department
(SMPD) to assist with such activities, shall be referred by the SMPD to the Miami Dade County
Police Department for their enlistment relative to these activities unless a public safety
emergency has occurred or is eminent.
Section 3. It shall be the policy of the City of South Miami that, unless specifically
required by an act of the Florida Legislature, the U.S. Congress, or a decision of the courts: (1)
the SMPD shall not enforce national immigration policy in the normal course of duty; (2) the
SMPD shall not inquire specifically into the immigration status of an individual unless the
individual is believed or determined to h~ve committed a serious felony determined to be a real
or potential threat to public safety or an unbondable offense (apart from immigration), indicative
of an ongoing threat to public welfare or safety. (3) the SMPD shall not engage in joint
operations with another agency wherein members of the community are to be screened or
arrested for their immigration status except where specific individuals, as identified above, are
sought; (4) the SMPD shall not initiate or cause to be initiated an investigation, detainment, or
arrest of individuals for immigration-related offenses, except as determined by the City Manager
to be a bona fide emergency concerning specific individuals sought through a court order or
sought by law enforcement for committing a serious felony or an unbondable offense (apart from
immigration). '
Section 4. If any section clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is for any
reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the holding shall not
affect the validity of the remaining portions of this resolution.
Section 5. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption.
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1 PASSED AND ADOPTED this th day of ,2017.
2
3 ATTEST: APPROVED:
4
5
6 CITY CLERK MAYOR
7
8 READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM, COMMISSION VOTE
9 LANGUAGE, LEGALITY, Mayor Stoddard:
10 AND EXECUTION THEREOF: Vice Mayor Welsh:
11 Commissioner Edmond:
12 Commissioner Harris:
13 Commissioner Liebman:
14
15
16 CITY ATTORNEY
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