Miami-Dade Commission ends County-funded immigration detention

Miami, FL – Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally A. Heyman, WeCount! and Miami Workers Center, will host a press conference to discuss a resolution passed by the board which overturns a costly policy of holding immigrants for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) without federal reimbursement. The press conference is scheduled to take place Wednesday, December 18, 2013, at 9:30 AM at the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW 1st Street, 2nd floor press room.

On December 3, 2013, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners unanimously passed a Resolution, spearheaded by Commissioners Sally A. Heyman and Jean Monestime, directing the Mayor to implement a new policy on the County’s response to immigration detainers (sometimes known as “ICE holds”). ICE detainers are requests from ICE asking the County to hold people in its custody for 2-5 days beyond the time they would otherwise be released, regardless of bond eligibility.

“This resolution requires the federal government to fully compensate Miami-Dade County before any ICE detainers will be honored,” said Commissioner Sally A. Heyman. “Miami-Dade County spends millions of dollars annually on ICE custody and healthcare for these detainees. If the federal government wants it done, they should pay for it.”