Doral, a suburb of Miami with some 27,000 Venezuelan migrants, has the largest population of nationals in the United States. The City Council authorized that police officers be appointed to carry out certain immigration control activities, such as interrogating, stopping and processing people suspected of being in the country without documents
The City Council of Moral unanimously voted on Wednesday 16 to approve an agreement with the federal government that authorizes its police to perform functions that normally correspond to the immigration authorities.
The controversial program 287 (g) of the Immigration and Customs Control Service (ICE) allows police officers to be designated to carry out certain immigration control activities, such as interrogating, stopping and processing people suspected of being in the country without documents, as well as to “comply and execute arrest orders for migratory violations”, according to a statement from the governor of Florida, Ron Desantis, published in February.
At the meeting of the Council on Wednesday, municipal officials declared that, according to state law, they were obliged to register in the ICE program.
“The decision of the city of Doral to align with the ICE marks a dangerous change that threatens the security, dignity and trust of the same people who built this community,” said lawyer Adelis Ferro before the Council.
«Converting the Doral Police into an arm of the Federal Immigration Police destroys trust. When people fear the police, he does not report crimes. The victims are silent, the witnesses disappear and we are all less sure, ”said Ferro, from the NGO Venezuelan American Caucus.
Doral, a suburb of Miami with some 27,000 Venezuelan migrants, has the largest population of nationals in the United States. The area is commonly known as “doralzuela.”
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«The police are here to protect and serve, not to discriminate or deport. This decision does not make Doral safer. It makes him silent, suspicious and divided, ”insisted lawyer Ferro.
The Venezuelan-American people helped Donald Trump get a decisive victory in the city, where his margin of Victoria increased approximately 20 percentage points between 2020 and 2024. One of the main suburb of the suburb is the doral golf resort, owned by the US president.
The Trump administration deported a group of 238 Venezuelan migrants to a maximum security prison in El Salvador, accused of belonging to the criminal band of Aragua. The agreement with Nicolás Maduro was also resumed to deport Venezuelans back to the country.
During the public comments, Doral’s residents expressed concern that this unfounded fear in the community and warned that undocumented victims of crimes will choose to remain silent instead of denouncing it.
With information from CNN in Spanish
*Journalism in Venezuela is exercised in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments arranged for the punishment of the word, especially the laws “against hatred”, “against fascism” and “against blockade.” This content is being published taking into account the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
