By Mandy Miles and Jim McCarthy
Confusion, rumor, outrage and alarm have permeated online comments and real-life conversations in the Florida Keys.
“What is going on? Is this really happening?”
The questions are constant, but the answers are elusive.
Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have reportedly raided restaurants, roofing companies and supermarkets, detaining and arresting immigrants, some of whom are said to have been here legally. Reports of officers stopping e-bikes, the preferred mode of transportation for immigrants without a driver’s license, have proliferated. Warnings have been posted online, advising immigrants — documented and not — to use alternate transportation, as agents were said to be targeting e-bikes and Ubers.
But ICE officials provide no public information about local encounters or arrests, and well-meaning social media users often share anecdotes that, while unsettling, are unconfirmed and often inaccurate.
Key West city commissioners will discuss local ICE activities and concerns at an upcoming meeting. City manager Brian L. Barroso on Friday, June 13, told the commissioners in an email that he had been asked to add a discussion to an upcoming commission agenda “as our community continues to express concern related to the recent ICE involvement.”
Community concern takes shape
As of Friday, June 13, a group of concerned residents in Key West had gathered more than 200 signatures from people and businesses agreeing with their community statement and petition seeking transparency, compassion and adherence to the rule of law.
“We are deeply concerned by reports from business owners and religious leaders that individuals with documented legal status — including green card holders and those with recognized work authorizations — have been detained or removed from our community. These actions have instilled fear among families, deterred residents from attending religious services, shopping for basic necessities, and even sending their children to school,” statement reads in part.
“Commissioner Sam Kaufman has called for a special session of the City Commission to address these serious developments. Among the key concerns to be discussed:
• How was the 287(g) Task Force Memorandum of Agreement implemented without formal review or approval by the City Commission?
• What are the budgetary impacts of this program on city resources, and how might the City seek reimbursement for unauthorized expenditures?
• How many legal residents have been detained under this enforcement activity?
• How many of those detained have criminal records, and what are the broader community impacts?
“Key West has always been a welcoming community. Our strength lies in our diversity, and our resilience comes from our commitment to unity, dignity, and justice for all.” (To sign the statement or for more information, contact Heather Slivko-Bathurst at KeyWestis25@gmail.com.)
Are local police working with ICE?
Yes, but they didn’t have a choice.
Earlier this year, Governor Ron DeSantis and the state legislature passed some of the harshest immigration laws in the country. One provision, known as the 287(g) Program, requires all local, county and state law enforcement agencies in Florida to sign agreements to assist ICE with immigration enforcement. Any police chief or sheriff who refuses to do so can be removed from office by the governor.
Ask Sheriff Gregory Tony of Broward County. He said at a recent public meeting that immigration enforcement was not his department’s priority. On June 9, he got a letter from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, demanding he clarify his comments and threatening to remove him from office.
As part of the 287(g) agreements, federal ICE agents will train the local officers selected for the partnership.
In addition to Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, state guard and Florida Department of Law Enforcement officers, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Key West Police Department and Key Colony Beach Police Department have signed the required agreements with ICE under the 287(g) Program, which authorizes local agencies to “enforce certain aspects of U.S. immigration law, expanding the department’s authority to:
- • Identify and process removable aliens with pending or active criminal charges.
- • Enforce limited immigration authorities with ICE oversight during routine duties.
- • Serve and execute administrative warrants on removable aliens in your jail,” states the ICE website.
“It’s not even an option whether we participate or not,” Sheriff Rick Ramsay told the Keys Weekly on Friday, June 13. “We had no choice. But my stance has always been the same, under Democratic or Republican presidents: We are not immigration officers and will not be doing work-site raids and we’re not targeting, or going looking for someone who’s here illegally. But if we become aware that they’re here illegally during an encounter with them, we will notify our federal partners. We’re not against the federal government, and if they ask us for assistance, we show up, as we do for all our partner agencies. We’ll show up to help, aid and assist while ensuring the safety of everyone involved, including immigrants, and ensure that due process is provided.”
Key West police chief Sean Brandenburg also had to sign a 287(g) agreement, and has submitted the names of the officers selected to participate in the partnership to ICE.
“Those members are currently being vetted by ICE. The next step would be additional training and issuance of equipment for the officers that were selected,” the chief wrote to Key West city manager Brian L. Barroso in a June 12 memo. “The Key West Police Department continues to enforce city and state laws daily. When police assistance is requested, the KWPD provides the assistance our county, state and federal partners have requested.”
The ICE website states, “With a 287(g) partnership, state and local law enforcement agencies and ICE work together to deport removable aliens involved in gang activity, violent crimes, human smuggling, organized crime, sex offenses, drug smuggling, money laundering and many other crimes.”
But In Florida, DeSantis has said that being in the country illegally is criminal enough for deportation.
State officials have been helping ICE in the Keys since 2023
Under DeSantis, the state stepped in to help with federal immigration matters in 2023, as the Florida Keys saw numerous migrant landings involving Cubans fleeing political persecution, and Haitians escaping gang violence and unrest. Migrants also arrived from Uzbekistan, Ecuador, China and other countries.
The number of migrant landings in the Keys had been increasing since 2021, straining the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies who were frequently called to assist U.S. Customs & Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard. By Jan 1, 2023, the issues had come to a head when 300 Cuban migrants landed at Dry Tortugas National Park.
On Jan. 6, 2023, the governor issued a 60-day state of emergency activating the Florida National Guard and deploying Florida Department of Law Enforcement personnel, Florida Highway Patrol troopers and Florida Fish & Wildlife officers to the Florida Keys. Vessels, helicopters and airplanes were also deployed.
Encampments for the deployed agents were set up in various locations in the Florida Keys. In Islamorada, property off the Old Highway was transformed into a full-service camp for law enforcement. Large enough to house 100 law enforcement members, the camp features sleeping trailers, a chef who prepares meals, showers, restrooms and even a full gym.
Despite migrant landings dwindling significantly in 2024, the encampment in Islamorada remains to this day as the state has now switched focus to assist ICE with deportations.
Are the June 14 protests about immigration?
Yes, among other things.
The nationwide, “No Kings” protests, expected to take place in nearly 2,000 cities on Saturday, June 14, and draw millions of people, were planned last month by the nonprofit Indivisible and other pro-democracy coalitions, as a “national day of defiance” to denounce President Donald Trump’s policies, including immigration and his mass deportation campaign. In addition, the nonviolent demonstrations are opposing Trump’s dismantling of government agencies, federal funding cuts, economic policies and treatment of foreign allies.
The day is intended to be a “national day of peaceful mobilization to defend democracy, reject authoritarian overreach, and stand up for their communities, organizers said.
But events in Los Angeles this past week, involving ICE raids and Trump’s use of military force have drawn more attention to the “No Kings” protests.
June 14 is Flag Day as well as Trump’s 79th birthday. He has orchestrated a military parade of tanks, soldiers and weapons in Washington, DC, purportedly to honor the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday, although Trump’s critics say the display is more about his ego than his appreciation for the U.S. military.
“On June 14 — Flag Day — President Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday — a spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else,” states NoKings.org, the website coordinating the protests with Indivisible. “‘No Kings’ is a nationwide day of defiance. …This is bigger than politics. They’ve defied our courts, deported citizens, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, slashed essential services and handed billions to their allies. Enough is enough.
“This country doesn’t belong to a king — and we’re not letting him throw himself a parade funded by tens of millions of our taxpayer dollars while stealing from us and stripping away our rights, our freedoms and the programs our families rely on. On June 14, we’re coming together to send one clear message: No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings.”
Governor denounces violence, but offers menacing message
As of Friday, June 13, more than 80 “No Kings” events had been planned throughout Florida, including three in the Florida Keys.
Event organizers have strictly prohibited violence and, anticipating potential backlash from Trump supporters, have offered training in de-escalation techniques ahead of the June 14 demonstrations.
But three days before the protests, Gov. Ron DeSantis made comments that seemed to immediately incite online threats of violence against peaceful protestors.
During a podcast interview with Dave Rubin on Wednesday, June 11, Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Floridians that any acts of violence or vandalism would lead to arrest.
He was then asked about protesters taking over a street without a permit.
“DeSantis told Rubin that people in their cars have a right to hit protesters because otherwise they might become a ‘sitting duck’ who the ‘mob’ could drag out of their car,” according to a June 12 Newsweek article. “We also have a policy that if you’re driving on one of those streets and a mob comes and surrounds your vehicle, and threatens you, you have a right to flee for your safety. And so if you drive off and you hit one of these people, that’s their fault for impinging on you,” DeSantis told the podcast host.
The next day, a Jacksonville man was arrested for posting an online threat, rife with misspellings, that said, “Look as a Jacksonville resident if I see any large gatherings to protest ICE I’m going to grab my buddies tow truck and plow through every ignant, un-american swine I see protesting the deportation of ILLEGAL immigrants. Since you believe in them so much, why don’t you go with.”
Keys Sheriff Rick Ramsay also was alerted on Friday to a Facebook post by former City of Marathon employee Jim Griffith, who wrote, in response to a comment about the sheriff and protestors, “He’s going to stand with them, watch. All my Keys peeps, make sure to put a good coat of wax on the front of your vehicles. Helps people slide off and protects your paint from blood spatter.”
Ramsay alerted his staff and learned that Griffith now lives in West Palm Beach, but thanked people for reporting the post.
“I’m not sure the governor’s message was the right message,” Florida Keys Sheriff Rick Ramsay told the Keys Weekly on Friday, June 13.
Ramsay said he and his deputies will support people’s right to free speech, no matter what signs they’re holding and no matter what they’re shouting through a bullhorn.
“We won’t be there to intimidate them; we’ll be there to monitor and ensure public safety for everyone.”
But, Ramsay emphasized, ”I will not tolerate violence from protestors or anti-protestors. If you attack a person or property or business, or block roads or intersections, you will be arrested and incarcerated.
“This is one of the best communities anywhere and such events have always been peaceful and respectful. People should not be influenced or pressed by online rhetoric.”
