Res No 090-19-15362RESOLUTION NO.: 90-19-15362
A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commissioners of the City of South Miami
authorizing the City Attorney to retain outside counsel to challenge Senate Bill 168
that forces cities and counties to expend their limited resources without
reimbursement to perform the work of the United States Department of Homeland
Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Whereas, in the past few years the Trump Administration has waged a war against
immigrants including efforts to undermine "sanctuary cities" by threatening to de fund states like
California and cities like Chicago and New York for resisting United States Department of
Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"); and
Whereas, recently the battle lines have shifted with the proliferation of state-level laws that
similarly seek to punish sanctuary cities and mandate local participation in ICE's vast detention and
deportation machine 1; and
Whereas, this state-level anti-sanctuary movement not only looks to repeal local sanctuary
policies, it is also aimed at eliminating the discretion that local communities have traditionally
exercised over their involvement in federal immigration enforcement efforts. In just the past four
years, eight states have passed laws banning local sanctuary policies and mandating local
participation in federal immigration enforcement.2 Florida can now be added to this growing list
with the signing of Senate Bill 168 ("SB 168") by Governor DeSantis on Friday June 14,2019; and
Whereas, SB 168 requires state and local entities and law enforcement agencies t6 use their
"best efforts" to support federal government officials' efforts to enforce immigration laws. "Best
efforts" is not defined in the bill. The bill also prohibits sanctuary jurisdictions, prohibits the
adoption of sanctuary policies (defined broadly), mandates the repeal of any existing sanctuary
policies, and requires state and local entities to comply with federal immigration detainers, i.e., ICE
holds; and
Whereas, entangling local law enforcement with ICE leads to racial profiling, civil rights
violations, isolation of immigrant communities, and family separations. When local officials are
working with ICE, police stop and harass Latinx residents at increased rates, while immigrants
withdraw from their communities, and decline to participate in public events where law enforcement
may be present; and
Whereas, effective law enforcement depends on a high degree of cooperation between police
departments and the public they serve. A relationship of trust between Florida's immigrant community
and state and local agencies is central to the public safety of the people of Florida. SB 168 gravely
1 See Pratheepan Gulasekaram, Rick Su, and Rose Cuison Villazor, Anti-Sanctuary and Immigration Localism. Colum.
L. Rev. Vol. 119, No.3 (2018).
2 See AL Code § 31-13-5 (2015) (Alabama); Ind. Code § 5-2-18.2 (2017) (Indiana); Iowa Code § 825.1 (2018) (Iowa);
GA Code §§ 36-80-23 (2017) (Georgia); Miss. Code Ann. § 25-1-119 (2017) (Mississippi); S.B. 145, Gen. Assemb., Reg.
Sess. (N.C. 2017) (North Carolina); H.B. 2315, 110th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Tenn. 2018) (Tennessee); S.B. 4, 85th
Leg., Reg. Sess. (Tex. 2017) (Texas).
Page 1 of 2
Res. No. 90-19-1 536 2
threaten s thi s tru st si nc e it requires s tat e a nd local agencies to be e ntangled with federal immi gration
e nforcement ; and
Whereas, SB 168 's requirement for th e South Miami Police Department to use it s "best
effo rt s" may lead to racial profiling, th ereby exposing the City to li ability for due process and equal
protec tion claims filed again st the C it y; and
Whereas, various sec ti o ns ofSB 168 a re un co nstitutional for a number of reaso ns includin g
vag uene ss, sinc e it is lik e ly to lead to arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement, there b y making it
difficult for th e C it y of South Miami's Police Department to know how to comply or how to be able
to confirm that th ey follow fed e ra l immi gra tion laws w ithout ri skin g a lawsuit against th e m b y th e
Gove rnor or Attorney General; and
Whereas, various se ction s of SB 168 conflict with , and are preempted b y, th e Immi g ration
and Nation a lity Act, 8 . U.S .C . § 1101 , el seq . (rNA) s inc e the United States Co ngre ss, and not th e
s tate of Florida, ha s the powe r to reg ul ate immigration.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA THAT:
Section 1. The C ity Attorney is he reb y in structed to challenge the lega li ty of Senate Bill
168 and he is authorized to retain outside counsel for that purpose , provided he is able to re tain a
per so n, firm or group of finn s that are wi llin g to provide such legal services free oflegal fees and
costs .
Section 2: Severability. If any sec tion , clause , se nt e nc e, or phrase of this resolution is for
any reason held invalid or uncon st itutiona l by a court of competent jurisdiction, the holding shall
not affect th e validity of the rem a inin g portions of thi s re so luti on.
Section 3 . Effective Date : This reso lution shall be effec tiv e immediatel y upon it s adoption.
PA SSE D AND ADOPTED thi s 9 th day of Jul v, 2019 .
ATTEST:
~t l (}.~~ Afli:t4dtd
Mayor City C le r
COMM ISSION VOTE : 5-0
Mayor Stoddard : Yea
Vice Mayor Harri s : Yea
Co mmi ss ioner Welsh : Yea
Co mmi ss ioner Liebman: Yea
Co mmi ss ioner Gil : Yea
Page 2 of 2
Special City Commission Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: July 9, 2019
Submitted by: Thomas Pepe
Submitting Department: City Attorney
Item Type: Resolution
Agenda Section:
Subject:
Agenda Item No: 1.
A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commissioners of the City of South Miami authorizing the City Attorney to
retain outside counsel to challenge Senate Bill 168 that forces cities and counties to expend their limited
resources without reimbursement to perform the work of the United States Department of Homeland Security's
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 3/5 (Mayor Stoddard)
Suggested Action:
Attachments:
Resolution auth CA to file 58168 suit (pc edits).docx
1