Two undocumented immigrants picked up in Miami-Dade for driving without valid licenses are suing the county for turning them over to immigration authorities under a 2017 policy switch to avoid a promised crackdown by President Donald Trump on so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions.
The immigrantsin the new federal suit — which does not name them — joined immigration groups in a broad denunciation of the policy implemented by Mayor Carlos Gimenez days after Trump took office and ordered federal agencies to withhold funds from state and local governments that don’t cooperate with immigration authorities.
Miami-Dade had been considered a “sanctuary” jurisdiction for immigration offenders under the Obama administration because the county’s policy was to decline detention requests from Washington. The “detainers” keep someone booked on unrelated local charges in jail for an extra 48 hours — plus weekends and holidays — to give immigration officers extra time to take the suspect into federal custody.
Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald.
