Activists Urge Doral Mayor to Sever Ties with ICE Agreement

This Wednesday, a group of activists gathered outside Doral City Hall, armed with approximately 170 signatures from local residents demanding an end to the 287(g) agreement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as reported by Miami's 7News. Their plan was to submit these signatures during the City Council meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. the same day.

Community Under Pressure

Organized by the ACLU of Florida and the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), the protest spotlighted Mayor Christi Fraga, a Cuban-American and the first woman to lead Doral since its founding in 2003. She finds herself caught between the pressures from Governor Ron DeSantis and the growing fears within a predominantly immigrant community.

Sam Lester from the ACLU of Florida openly challenged the notion that the city has no choice in the matter: "Despite misleading statements from state officials, they are free to exit this agreement, and the governor, despite his threats, lacks the authority to remove municipal officials for doing so," he declared.

Legal and Economic Concerns

The 287(g) agreement and the ongoing tensions between local communities and ICE are part of a continuously evolving immigration landscape. Stay updated on our Immigration in the U.S. section.

Jeanette Infante, a lawyer with the Southern Poverty Law Center, provided a compelling legal perspective: Florida Statute 908.11 requires 287(g) agreements only for sheriffs and correctional chiefs operating county detention centers, and "the City of Doral is unequivocally not one of those entities."

Thomas Kennedy, policy analyst for FLIC, acknowledged a recent meeting with Fraga but deemed it insufficient: "We appreciate the conversation; it was in good faith, but ultimately it hasn't yielded tangible results for the community. We are here to reiterate the consequences and exit strategies from this harmful agreement."

Mayor's Response and Community Impact

Fraga responded to 7News, claiming that residents are safe and protected under her leadership. She disclosed that her team had sent a letter to the State Attorney's Office seeking changes to the agreement. The mayor also emphasized that essential policing practices remain unchanged: "There's factual information right on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's website showing that our police have not collaborated and, in fact, did not complete the training. We do not want to see families in our community harmed, especially those following the process."

Pressure on Fraga has intensified since she admitted in a September interview with Telemundo 51 that she signed the agreement under direct pressure from DeSantis and Florida's attorney general, who warned of potential removals and the loss of police department credentials.

The Broader Impact on Doral

The everyday life in Doral is visibly affected. During public comments before the Council, a speaker outlined the situation: "Family businesses report sales drops of up to 70% because frightened residents refuse to leave their homes. Several restaurant owners have noted a massive shortage of staff after employees fled or stayed home out of fear of being detained." Resident Liz Rebecca Alarcón starkly summarized: "I've never seen the city so desolate, so empty and the residents so scared."

With a population of about 76,490, nearly 70% of whom were born outside the United States, and approximately 27,000 of Venezuelan descent, Doral has witnessed its streets empty and businesses suffer as ICE-related arrests jumped from three in December 2025 to 17 by July 2026.

Doral isn't alone in facing this challenge. Last month, activists gathered outside Miami City Hall, urging Mayor Eileen Higgins to rescind a similar agreement, which the Miami Commission had passed by a three-to-two vote in June 2025.

As of this article's publication, no vote or decision had been reported from the Doral City Council concerning the 287(g) agreement at this Wednesday's session.