MIAMI – Doral is poised to formally align itself with the federal government on immigration enforcement, bringing the largest Venezuelan-American city in the country into the fold of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

On Wednesday, the Doral City Council is expected to authorize the city to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement through a program known as 287(g). The agreement would enable Doral police officers to perform limited immigration functions, including questioning, detaining and processing individuals suspected of violating immigration laws.

The potential agreement comes as Venezuelans have become the target of several immigration policies by the Trump administration, which has repeatedly described Venezuelan migrants in racist terms. The federal government has moved to strip hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans from lawfully obtained deportation protections and work permits. It also flew Venezuelans to a mega prison in El Salvador mega prison using wartime powers and without due process.

Doral officials told the Miami Herald that the partnership with ICE is not intended to criminalize immigrants who live in Doral. In the past, the 287(g) program has come under fire for enabling racial profiling and harassment of Latinos.

“The intention isn’t to detain anyone based on how they look,” Council Member Rafael Pineyro said. “We are obligated to follow federal and state laws, but the goal is not to target individuals based on appearance. Our focus remains on lawful enforcement, not profiling.”

Pineyro is the only Venezuelan-American member of the council. Two months ago he proposed a resolution “urging President Trump to find a solution for law-abiding Venezuelans,” after the Trump administration eliminated deportation protections and work permits for thousands of Venezuelans under Temporary Protected Status. At the time, Pineyro said he wasn’t “looking to create a confrontation with Trump.”

The same city council that is likely to approve the ICE partnership also recently endorsed the Venezuelan Adjustment Act, a congressional bill that would provide a pathway to green cards for tens of thousands of Venezuelans who have come to the United States.

Pressure from the state

The move to join the 287(g) program also marks a dramatic shift in Doral’s law enforcement stance and underscores the increasingly prominent role local police departments are assuming in federal immigration efforts. Trump has aggressively pushed for state and local police to support his mass deportation efforts. Florida statutes require enforcement agencies in charge of county jails to be enrolled in 287(g) programs. Gov. Ron DeSantis is also pushing for city police departments to join, even though the law does not explicitly require them to do so.

In Florida, more than a hundred local and county governments have joined agreements with ICE, the most out of any state. If the Doral City Council approve the agreement with ICE, it would join Coral Gables, Hialeah, Miami Springs, West Miami, Key West, and other local police departments.

The pressure from DeSantis has not been met without resistance. South Miami has asked a judge to weigh in as to whether Florida cities and municipalities are required under Florida law to join 287(g) programs. Fort Myers originally rejected becoming part of the ICE agreement, but gave in state Attorney General threatened local officials with suspension.

Just weeks ago, Doral city officials, speaking anonymously to the Herald, admitted they were actively exploring ways to avoid approving the ICE agreement, so long as doing so didn’t trigger a “sanctuary city” designation from the state or threaten the city’s access to federal funding.

There are three types of 287(g) programs that allow local police officers to perform different functions, including executing immigration warrants. It’s not clear which type Doral will join, but many municipalities in Florida have opted into the Task Force model, which allows cops to arrest undocumented immigrants.

Well-established Venezuelan community

Doral’s decision could set a powerful precedent in South Florida, especially within a predominantly immigrant community, where many residents lack permanent status and have sought refuge from authoritarian regimes and political persecution. Seventy percent of Doral’s population is foreign-born, and Venezuelans make up over a third of the residents.

Since the start of Trump’s second term, Doral, which leans conservative on voting rolls, has been caught in a political and humanitarian bind. Venezuelans make up almost one-third of the city’s electorate and hold significant sway in local elections. That demographic has helped shape the city’s political identity and also makes it uniquely vulnerable to federal immigration policy shifts.

If the Trump administration is ultimately successful in rescinding TPS — which has protected more than 600,000 Venezuelans from deportation and has allowed to work legally — Doral would become one of the hardest-hit cities in the nation. Local officials have already warned that ending TPS could devastate the city’s economy, destabilize families and overwhelm local resources.

Venezuelan advocates are concerned about the impact that the 287(g) agreement would have on the community.

“By transforming local law enforcement into instruments of the Department of Homeland Security’s enforcement, Doral’s elected officials have broken the trust of the city’s large Venezuelan community,” said Adelys Ferro, executive director of the Venezuelan American Caucus, which is currently fighting the termination of TPS for Venezuelans in federal court.

“The community relies on the police for protection, not persecution.”

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