(The Center Square) – The Key West City Commission voted this week to retain its 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being threatened with legal action by state officials.
The commission voted 4-2 on Tuesday night at a specially-called meeting to approve the agreement with ICE.
Key West’s agreement is on the task force model, where the department would enforce limited immigration authority during routine duties under ICE oversight.
The commission voted down 4-2 a resolution to join the city of South Miami in legal action against Gov. Ron DeSantis and the requirement for local law enforcement to enter into enforcement agreements with ICE.
Commissioner Samuel Kaufman, out of town for the meeting, provided a statement to be read into the record at Tuesday’s meeting.
Kaufman supported ending the city’s agreement with ICE and said the meeting was scheduled without checking if all commissioners could attend.
“Instead of slowing down considering all our options, including joining South Miami’s legal challenge, the mayor rushed to reverse course,” Kaufman’s statement read. “Our police chief signed that agreement without public input or commission approval. That’s a problem and we were right to recognize it as void.
“Make no mistake that entering into the 287(g) agreement is the worst option for our community. Key West depends on tourism. We depend on trust, turning our police into ICE agents erodes both. This isn’t about politics, it’s about public safety and economic survival.”
On June 30, the commission voted 6-1 to end the Key West Police Department’s 287(g) agreement, which deputizes officers to act as immigration enforcement in cooperation with ICE because it was approved by Police Chief Sean Brandenburg and not the city commission.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent the city a letter informing them of the legal consequences of the city’s decision to terminate the agreement with ICE.
In March, Uthmeier threatened the city of Fort Myers with a lawsuit over the city council’s vote to terminate its 287(g) agreement with ICE and the council swiftly reversed its decision in a unanimous vote.
The program is named after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1996, 8 USC 1357, Section 287(g)(1), which authorizes ICE to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration functions only under ICE’s direction and supervision.
Sworn state and local law enforcement officers will have the ability under the 287(g) program to interrogate any suspects on immigration status. If they’re in violation of the country’s immigration laws, they can be further detained and processed.
These officers will also be able to arrest and detain people trying to enter the country through the state’s ports or coastline.
There are three types of 287(g) agreements: the task force model, the jail enforcement model and the warrant officer model.
