Washington, D.C. – Cristóbal Alex, president of the Latino Victory Project, issued the following statement in response to the decision by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez to comply with federal immigration detention requests:
“Millions of immigrant families are already feeling the consequences of Trump’s attack on our community: from creating a deportation force and imposing an unconstitutional travel ban on Muslims, to putting law-abiding immigrants including DREAMers in danger of deportation, and now targeting cities that protect undocumented immigrants. This is after just over one week in office. It is in urgent times like these that we look to our elected officials to stand up for our community like we have seen from mayors across the country. From Los Angeles to Boston, from Chicago to New York, mayors are standing up against Trump’s threats.
“It is disappointing and incomprehensible that Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez would give in to Trump’s hateful demands. Miami has been and will continue to be a city of immigrants. Making Miami-Dade’s jails turn into immigrant detention centers will undermine basic community policing policies proven to decrease crime and protect the community. Look no further than the protests happening at airports from coast to coast — folks from all walks of life have rallied to protest the immediate effects of the Muslim ban. It is crucial for elected leaders like Gimenez and others to listen to their constituents and do the right thing to protect all of us impacted by Trump’s inhumane orders.”
