MIAMI NEW TIMES
BY: JERRY IANNELLI
Holding federal immigration detainees in local jails has been ruled unconstitutional. The practice tears apart families, jails people who may never have been convicted of crimes, and can even lead to locking up the wrong people. For some reason, Miami-Dade County insists on detaining immigrants in local jails on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's behalf in order to avoid being called a "sanctuary" county, even though, as the Miami Herald has reported, the county hasn't received any meaningful benefit from the Trump administration for doing so.
Instead, according to a report multiple local civil rights groups released yesterday, Miami-Dade's infamous anti-sanctuary policies have cost taxpayers $12.5 million in 2017 and are on pace to cost the county $13.6 million annually. The data, compiled by the activist organizations the Community Justice Project, Florida Immigrant Coalition, and WeCount!, was first reported by CBS Miami this past Sunday.