A coalition advocating for immigrants launched a public pressure campaign this week against Miami's mayor, Eileen Higgins, demanding that she terminate the agreement linking the city's Police Department with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as reported by El Nuevo Herald.
Barriers and radio against the 287(g) agreement
The Florida Immigrant Coalition installed two billboards visible from the I-95 at Northwest 62nd Street and from Southwest 17th Avenue and First Street, in Little Havana.
The campaign also includes a Spanish radio ad titled "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing," which criticizes Higgins for not taking stronger action to terminate the 287(g) agreement, which allows local agents to receive federal training and operate under ICE supervision to interrogate, arrest, and detain individuals suspected of violating immigration laws.
“Miami cannot claim to be a welcoming city while its police department maintains an agreement that facilitates collaboration with ICE,” stated Thomas Kennedy, spokesperson for the coalition, to the Miami Herald.
Kennedy emphasized the urgency of the moment: "With holders of TPS from Venezuela and Haiti facing the loss of their protections, what is at stake could not be more important."
Kennedy concluded with a direct argument: “The immigrant communities of Miami should not have to choose between calling the police and protecting their families from immigration consequences. Repealing 287(g) would send a clear message that the Miami police are here to protect everyone living in this city.”
Higgins criticizes the agreement, but without direct action
The 287(g) agreement was approved by the Miami City Commission in June 2025, by a vote of three to two, before Higgins took office as mayor in December of that year.
During her campaign, the mayor criticized the pact and promised to "minimize any involvement."
The day after winning the elections, she was emphatic: "There is no reason in the City of Miami for our police department to do the work of enforcing federal immigration law."
He now asserts that, without a vote from the five-member Commission, the decision falls to the commissioners.
In a statement, he affirmed: "Since my campaign and when I took office, I made it clear to the community that we must treat all residents with humanity and dignity, which is why I said the city should review the 287(g) agreement. Since then, the Commission held a debate at the end of June, and I hope a legislative measure reaches my desk so that I can sign it quickly."
Three of the five commissioners said in June that they would be willing to abandon the agreement, as long as it can be done legally.
Pressure from within the Democratic Party
The state representative Angie Nixon, who recently won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in Florida, specifically urged Higgins to end the agreement during a press conference in front of the City Hall in early August.
"We need to pay attention because there are some Democrats who need to have the political courage to stand up and do the right thing," Nixon said.
"I urge Mayor Higgins and all members of the city council to end this agreement and start allowing people to be healthy, thrive, and feel safe," she added.
451 migrants arrested, 131 of them of Cuban origin
Although the city administrator reported in June that only two agents from the Miami Police were trained under the program, the data reveals a significant impact.
According to a report on immigration arrests in Miami-Dade, between August 2025 and August 23, 2026, the Miami Police made 451 arrests of migrants under that agreement, becoming the agency with the most detentions in the entire county.
Of those arrested, 131 —about 29%— were of Cuban origin, and 35% of the arrests occurred after Higgins' election.
The TPS exacerbates the urgency
Pressure on the mayor intensifies following the Supreme Court's decision to allow the Trump administration to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians.
It is estimated that 90,000 holders of that status live in the Miami metropolitan area. Higgins joined the mayors of Boston, Cincinnati, and Kansas City in writings to the Supreme Court opposing that termination, warning that Miami "would be particularly affected" if TPS were canceled for Haitian nationals.
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