The mayor of Doral, Christi Fraga, acknowledged that she signed the collaboration agreement with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under direct pressure from the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, and the state's attorney general, according to statements made to Telemundo 51 in an interview with Gloria Ordaz.
Fraga explained that, according to her interpretation, a state law passed in 2025 required municipalities to sign the agreement known as 287(g), and at that time, elected officials were warned that they could be removed from office and that Police Departments could lose their credentials if they did not comply. When directly asked if she acted under the governor's threat, she responded affirmatively.
Despite having signed the agreement—approved by the municipal council in January 2026 under the Task Force model—the mayor insisted that the Doral Police have not participated in any immigration operations.
"Our police have not collaborated with ICE in any raids," he stated, adding that the city has also not sent officers to receive training related to the agreement nor shares data about its residents with federal authorities.
El acuerdo 287(g) entre municipios e ICE es parte de un panorama migratorio en constante cambio. Sigue todas las novedades en nuestra sección de
"You should have no fear of our Police Department," Fraga told the city's residents directly.
The Cuban-American official also pointed out that federal agencies do not notify Doral when they will conduct operations in its territory, and that she has requested information from the Department of Homeland Security regarding the arrests.
He stated that he communicated his concerns to the White House and expressed to President Donald Trump that there are Venezuelan families who have built their lives in the United States, have children born in the country, and do not wish to leave, although he did not receive a concrete response.
When asked if she regrets signing and whether she would be willing to cancel the agreement, Fraga did not make a decision. She explained that she had sent a letter to the Attorney General of Florida to request an official determination and that she will wait for their response before taking any action.
He also questioned why other cities that did not sign the 287(g) agreement are not facing the consequences that had been warned about.
Finally, he rejected the notion that his signing of the agreement implied support for migration operations, and in response to calls for his resignation, he defended his management by pointing to low taxes and the city's safety.
The future of the agreement remains in limbo: the mayor is awaiting a response from the Attorney General of Florida before deciding on her next steps.
The statements come amid a growing pressure from activists and community leaders demanding the termination of the agreement. On Tuesday, former federal representative Joe García and the mayor of South Miami, Javier Fernández —whose city did not sign the 287(g) without facing reprisals— led a public meeting to call for an end to the agreement. García was emphatic: "They could have chosen to show compassion and they chose to be cruel."
The impact of the ICE operations on businesses and families in Doral has been significant: the restaurant Pipo Burgers reported a 70% drop in sales, a karate school lost about half of its enrollments in three weeks, and numerous families chose to keep their children in virtual classes. ICE arrests in the city rose from three in December 2025 to 17 in July 2026.
Doral is home to about 27,000 residents of Venezuelan origin within a total population of approximately 76,490 inhabitants, making it the largest concentration of Venezuelans outside of Venezuela.
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