Miami-Dade County Releases List of 34 Detainer Requests

MIAMI — In the initial weeks since Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez issued his controversial immigration order, Miami-Dade County received a total of 34 immigration detainer requests from the federal government, according to data released by the county on Tuesday evening.

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The charges against the individuals that were the subject of the immigration detainers between Jan. 27 and Feb. 7 include everything from possession of marijuana to petit theft, assault and murder between.

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The release of the list of detainers comes ahead of Friday's planned public meeting in which advocates of undocumented immigrants and Trump supporters are gearing up for a possible showdown over the policy.

The Gimenez memorandum came one day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order threatening federal funding to cities that didn't comply.

Gimenez and other elected officials had feared that the county might be unfairly lumped in with cities that openly shield undocumented immigrants from prosecution as Patch reported earlier.

"The commission may discuss or take action on any item related to this topic that may be placed on the agenda," according to a meeting notice of the Miami-Dade Commission, which refused to hear from audience members on the issue at its meeting last week.

The Feb. 17 meeting will take place in the Miami-Dade County Commission chamber on the second floor of the Stephen P. Clark Center at 111 NW 1st St. in downtown Miami.

President Donald Trump took to Twitter to applaud the Gimenez' order, tweeting "Miami-Dade mayor drops sanctuary policy. Right Decision. Strong!"

Miami-Dade County Democratic Chairman Juan Cuba and others who attempted to raise the issue at last week's public meeting of the Miami-Dade Commission were shut down by Chairman Esteban L. Bovo, Jr., who had asked the public to reserve any comments on the order for Friday's meeting. Cuba was eventually ejected from the meeting chamber when he persisted.

In his one-page memorandum, titled "Executive Order: Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States," Gimenez pointed to President Trump's executive order and ordered the head of the county's prisons to "honor all immigration detainer requests received from the Department of Homeland Security."

The memorandum was addressed to Daniel Junior, interim director of the county's Corrections and Rehabilitation Department.

"Miami-County complies with federal law and intends to fully cooperate with the federal government," added Gimenez in his Jan. 26 memo. "I will partner with the Board of County Commissioners to address any issues necessary to achieve this end."

Image of Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez courtesy of Miami-Dade County