HIALEAH, Fla. – Hialeah police officers will soon be helping federal agents crack down on illegal immigration.
It’s all part of new state immigration laws that were signed last month.
The cooperation with ICE is technically optional for police departments, but with the consequences of not participating still unclear, departments across South Florida are opting in.
Tuesday, Hialeah City Council members defended their support for signing a 287-G agreement.
“Many might want to go out and put fear mongering out there so that everyone gets nervous, but tomorrow morning it will be business as usual in the City of Hialeah,” said Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo.
“The misinformation will be that now we will be actively separating families, babies will be crying as we tear their parents out of their arms,” said Hialeah City Council Vice President Luis Rodriguez. “Nothing of the sort.”
The city has become the latest in South florida to agree to assist federal immigration authorities.
Hialeah Police Chief George Fuente also supported the plan.
“This agreement will have me select however many officers I select to train, to allow to be trained, by immigration, to understand their protocols and what can and can’t be done when it comes to certain operations that they perform,” said Fuente.
The agreement provides that training as well as access to a database of undocumented people federal immigration lists as detainable. It’s part of new agreement laws Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last month.
Immigration advocates fear police departments will use the agreement to specifically target immigrants.
“There’s no way we’re going to set up sweeps in neighborhoods,” said Tony Marcial Olivera, who opposed the measure. “And it’s like, you can say that, but the 2011 Justice Department Investigation of Maricopa County found they did in fact do sweeps.”
Hialeah joins several other cities, like Davie, Sunny Isles, Palm Beach Gardens and Coral Gables in signing the agreement.
Florida leads the way on a federal list of departments who have signed on to the measure.
Sheriff’s departments from all 67 Florida counties have signed on.