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The Doral City Council unanimously approved this Wednesday the employment contract of Matthew Castillo as the new police chief of the city, who will take his oath on June 17 despite his tenure in Miami Springs making him one of the most active police chiefs in Miami-Dade County in the enforcement of immigration laws.
Castillo, 42 years old, comes from the Miami Springs Police Department, where he served as chief for 17 months, as noted in his report by the Miami Herald.
Under his command, that department —with only 47 agents and a city of about 13,000 inhabitants— actively participated in the 287(g) program of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which empowers local agents to perform immigration enforcement duties.
According to data from the Florida Immigration Control Board, Miami Springs recorded 75 immigration-related encounters between August 2025 and May 2026, resulting in 50 arrests, 16 of which were classified as immigration arrests.
That figure surpasses those of much larger municipalities: Sunny Isles Beach, with 22,000 residents, recorded 32 immigration arrests, while Boynton Beach, with over 83,000 residents, reported 20.
Out of a sample of 48 encounters over six months in Miami Springs, 28 of the individuals involved were Cuban nationals, according to state data.
In light of these numbers, Castillo sought to reassure the Doral community during the council session. "There is no need to be afraid," he stated.
"We do not enforce immigration status; we enforce the law, and in Miami Springs, we have never had a single resident detained for any immigration-related issues."
The new chief indicated that his priority in Doral will be traffic, not immigration. "One of the main issues in Miami Springs was traffic, and traffic was a big problem for us, for the residents," he said. "And it affected me deeply because I lived there."
The mayor Christi Fraga supported that stance. "We have never conducted immigration raids by our police department," she stated, adding that the zero tolerance policy against crime will remain unchanged.
The demographic context of Doral makes the appointment particularly sensitive. The city, known as "Doralzuela," has 76,490 inhabitants, of whom 71% were born outside the United States, and approximately 27,000 are of Venezuelan origin, the largest concentration of that community in any city in the country.
Doral approved a collaboration agreement with ICE in April 2025 under the 287(g) program, as part of a massive expansion of that scheme throughout South Florida.
The councilman Rafael Pinyero, of Venezuelan origin, reported during the session that "false and misleading information" was circulating on social media regarding Castillo's history. "They tried to create chaos in a community that is already suffering, a community where people are afraid to get into their cars, go to the corner store, or take their children to school," he said.
The appointment also generated internal criticism. Resident Richard Glukstad pointed out to the council that no agent from Doral has ever been promoted internally to the chief position in the entire history of the department.
"The men and women of the Doral Police Department may feel that they are never fully trusted," he warned.
Alongside Castillo, the new deputy chief Jonathan Dweck, a 24-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, will take the oath on June 17, with a salary of $170,000. Castillo will earn $240,000 annually, compared to the $154,500 he made in Miami Springs.
The outgoing chief Edwin López, a Cuban-American with over 28 years of experience, was appointed in May as the new chief of the Miami Police Department with an annual salary of $325,000.
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