Former Congressman Joe Garcia will join others at County Hall this afternoon to protest Mayor Carlos Gimenez‘s directive last week to have illegal immigrants who are arrested for other crimes detained for federal immigration proceedings.

“While I’m a good friend of Mayor Gimenez’s, I think this is a mistake,” Garcia told Ladra Tuesday morning.

“Hopefully, he is going to reconsider.”

The protest Tuesday, organized by immigrant activists, is the second one in five days. Close to 100 demonstrators showed up to County Hall on Friday, a day after the mayor ordered the corrections department to hold anyone who has a federal detention order and turn them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But they were blocked from entering the public building. Wonder if Gimenez’s office is going to block a former congressman, too.

The protest today starts at 4:30 p.m. — just as county employees leave for the day.

Read related story: Carlos Gimenez betrays our community for Donald Trump

Immigration issues are important to Garcia, who lost a bid to retake his seat from U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo in November. Curbelo, btw, was one of the five Republicans who voted against a House measure that passed last week cutting off federal funds from the U.S. Department of Justice to states and cities that refuse to enforce current immigration laws.

“When I served in Washington, immigration was a very important thing to me,” Garcia said, adding that he ran one of the largest refugee programs when he headed the Cuban American National Foundation in the 90s.

“And it is very important that we stand with one of the things that make our community so rich. It’s not just the Cubans, it’s the Nicaraguans, the Colombians, the Hondurans,” Garcia said. “I think the signal he [Mayor Gimenez] sent to the rest of the country is a poor one.”

On Thursday, Gimenez sent a directive to Miami-Dade Corrections Director Daniel Junior instructing him to hold anyone in county custody who has a detention order from ICE. It reversed a long-standing tradition not to do so and a 2013 county commission resolution that states that the county will only comply with detainer requests once the federal government pays the county costs. Gimenez was the first, and so far the only, mayor to cave in to Trump’s threats.

“The city on the hill is what people in Latin America, Central America and the Caribbean see Miami as. And for us to go for the false narrative from the White House is wrong,” said Garcia, whose parents came to this country when they were 18 and 17 years old.

Read related story: Levine Cava questions Gimenez on sanctuary about-face

“Our mayor is a refugee himself,” Garcia added. “He may not have thought this all the way through.”

Okay, okay, but does this mean that Garcia is positioning himself for another run for office. Maybe for county mayor in 2020 (or sooner, if there’s a recall)? After all, he sent a press release from his campaign Nation Builder account (Update: He sent two; one Monday night and a reminder Tuesday afternoon).

“There is no election going on,” he told Ladra after he laughed a little. “And anyways, I’m a poor politician. This is something that is important. That is why I’m going to be there.”

Ladra wonders how many other electeds — past and present — will be counted, too.

And what else might the mayor give up to Trump?

Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava is pushing back on the mayor’s decision last week to kowtow to Donald Trump and betray not only the immigrant community in Miami-Dade but all of us.

She’s the only one. So far, anyway. But her questions could put the issue on the agenda for the next meeting next week.

Gimenez went against the whole county commission when he issued a directive Thursday instructing corrections officers to detain illegal immigrants — kowtowing to Trump’s threat to withhold federal funds from so-called sancutary cities — because it goes against a 2013 resolution to do the opposite.

Read related story: Carlos Gimenez betrays our community for Donald Trump

But as of Monday afternoon, only Commissioner Levine Cava seems to have questions and concerns about it. At least on the record. She asked the mayor in a memo Monday to brief the commission on the financial impacts and other consequences of his about face “as soon as possible,” and even suggests they consider joining other cities across the U.S. who have legally challenged the president’s executive order.

“Our community has followed with great interest recent changes in federal immigration policy and your response as to local implementation. I fully understand the need to hold people responsible for criminal acts and to utilize our law enforcement to ensure that all of Miami-Dade County is safeguarded. However, I am concerned as to how these new policies can be implemented fairly and without jeopardizing community safety.

It is generally recognized that detention of individuals on the basis of immigration status alone can suppress cooperation with local law enforcement, vital to protection of all residents. The policy outlined in Resolution R-1008-13 has worked effectively since 2013 to reduce fears in the immigrant community about the possibility of unwarranted detention, and has contributed to more positive police-community relations than that experience in some other jurisdictions.

How can we continue our strong record of community policing and avoid unjust racial and ethnic profiling? What are the budgetary impacts of these policies, including the possible costs that could arise from legal action against the county for adherence to the new policies? It is vital that the county commission receive a briefing from you on these and  other questions as soon as possible.

I  look forward to your response as to these considerations and further suggest that we consider joining other jurisdictions in their pending lawsuits challenging the Executive Order pending a final determination by the courts as to its constitutionality.”

According to Alex Annunziato, legislative aide to Commission Chairman Esteban Bovo, that was the only memo requesting any kind of follow up on the mayor’s actions. Not any legislation or any discussion item request for the next meeting, again, as of Monday afternoon. But it’s early and the next commission meeting isn’t for another week.

Commissioners Jean Monestime and Sally Heyman sponsored the resolution in 2013, not because they love illegal immigrants or anything. They did it to save the juvenile boot camp program that the mayor was threatening to cut. Gimenez had challenged commissioners to find the monies needed to find several programs they wanted to save. This is where they found at least some of it.

But they also found so much more.

The resolution states that in 2011 and 2012 there were 3,262 and 2,499 detainer requests, respectively, from federal immigration officials — so Ladra doesn’t know where this 170-some figure that the mayor’s spokesman spewed out comes from — and that 57% of them had not committed felonies. The resolution also these detention orders to house these detaines for the additional 48 hours after their local charges had been resolved cost county taxpayers just over $1 million in 2011 and $667,000 in 2012 — not the low-ball figure the mayor’s office provided.

Furthermore, “a policy of blanket compliance with Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers could undermine trust between local police officers and the immigrant community of Miami-Dade.”

Commissioners loved the resolution so much that five more signed on to co-sponsor. They voted 10-0 to honor detention requests “only if the federal government agrees in writing to reimburse Miami-Dade County for any and all costs relating to compliance.”

Nothing has changed since then. It’s not like Trump suddenly whipped out a federal checkbook and wrote the county a check to cover our costs.

“How does he get around a commission resolution,” asked Commissioner Xavier Suarez, perhaps verbalizing the question everyone wants to know. “He did not act in a collegial way,” he told Ladra.

Suarez would have preferred that Gimenez had taken more time and weighed his option and noted the response of Broward and Palm Beach counties, which was to require court orders.

Gimenez even had political cover: He could have told The Donald or anyone pressuring from the federal government that he had to wait until the commission could meet as a whole. After all, it should be their decision. Right?

Another legitimate question for commissioners to ask is where is the money going to come from to comply with this executive order? If this Trump administration’s reputation sticks, the number of detention orders will likely surge. I’d go with the $1 million figure from 2011 and maybe double that. Will we have to cut more than the boot camp?

It’s hard to see where any vote on this might go. But we have at least one more protest on Tuesday to show commissioners just how the community feels about it. 

Gimenez missed the first protest Friday, when residents who were peacefully demonstrating against the change in policy were blocked from entering a public building. He apparently took off out of town right after his executive order and did not come back until Monday. But it seems he doesn’t care what anyone else thinks.

The mayor did not reach out to Heyman or Bovo or any of the other commissioners before making his decision. But they’ve been supportive in public statements. Bovo, a Republican like Gimenez, has been more supportive than Heyman, a Democrat who has told the press that Gimenez was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Perhaps that is the way he’ll justify completely going over the commission’s head and against their resolution — because it was a fiscal emergency. That holds no water, though, because there is no looming deadline and some question as to the federal government’s jurisdiction in the first place.

There is no indication the mayor sought the advice of anyone in the finance department about the fiscal impact. There is no indication that he sought the legal opinion of our very well-paid county attorneys, despite the fact that cities across the nation have questioned the legality of Trump’s threat. There was no discussion about what it might cost the county in legal battles, as Levine Cava said. Ladra has asked for any communication between the mayor and the county attorney’s office, which you think they’d be able to provide rather quickly if it was something discussed recently, y nada.

As usual, this seems like it was just another knee-jerk reaction from someone who is supposed to be oh so experienced in public administration. Or maybe it’s more nefarious. His lobbyist son, CJ Gimenez, opened a new consulting firm to lobby the federal government based on his connection to the Trump organization, which he lobbied for in Doral. Could this be a way to make good with Trump after endorsing Hillary last fall?

And what’s next? I mean, if Gimenez can willy nilly just ignore a unanimously-approved commission resolution and issue his own conflicting executive order against it just to make nice with the president, what might come next?

If President Trump threatens to withhold federal funding to cities and counties that recognize and mitigate climate change and sea level rise, will Gimenez jump to scrap the mediocre efforts he’s bragged about too much for two straight years.

And what happens if Trump threatens to withhold federal dollars from any municipality that recognizes and respects transgender rights? Will Gimenez again jump however high to please his son’s former client and new greasy wheel?

Betha more county commissoiners will step forward to oppose him then.

The city of Doral needs about $3.8 million in state funds to finance or complete several different projects that are already approved and address some of the city’s biggest issues: traffic and flooding.

These include storm water improvements to mitigate persistant problem flooding, the stabilization of canal banks, the widening of 87th Avenue, a pedestrian/cyclist bridge over 41st Street by the Turnpike and the installation of air monitoring devices near the Medley landfill and Covanta Waste to Energy facilities.

City Council members will get an update Tuesday at a legislative priorities workshop from lobbyists Ron Book and Jose Diaz on efforts and pathways to secure state funding or grants for these projects.

“These have been identified by staff as the most important projects right now,” said Mayor J.C. Bermudez. “We have a lot of infrastructure problems.”

Some of the projects are already in different stages of development:

• The stormwater improvement monies are for two sub basin projects already in the pipeline — one along Northwest 29th and 31st streets between 79 and 82nd avenues and another along Northwest 82nd and 84th avenues between 56th and 58th streets. Both projects include installation of new manholes, new inlets, exfiltration trench, solid pipe, and asphalt restoration. The first one, which is pending payment to the county to acquire the permit) is estimated to cost $700,000 and the city of Doral wants the state to appropriate $350,000. Construction is scheduled to begin already for the second project, which is estimated to cost $1,076,270. The city is requesting half, $538,135, from the state.
• The stabilization of approximately 1.3 miles of canal bank at the Northline Canal along Northwest 25 Street between 87th and 97th avenues and at the Dressels Canal adjacent to Northwest 52nd Street between 97th and 102nd avenues is in the design stage. The project, which includes a pedestrian/bike path along 25th Street, is projected to cost $1.5 million and the city is requesting $750,000 through budget appropriations.
• The design is about 60 percent complete for the widening of Northwest 87th Avenue between 27th and 33rd streets from three to five lanes. The project includes drainage improvements, curb and gutters, sidewalks, street lighting, and modifications to the signalized intersection at 82nd and 33rd. This project will be the continuation of the widening of NW 82 Avenue and will match the five-lane typical section of the portion of NW 82 Avenue (NW 33 St. – NW 36 St.) that is currently under construction by the adjacent development (CityPlace). Funding for that project will come out of next fiscal year’s budget and is estimated to cost $1.9 million, of which the city will seek $1.15 million in FastLanes grants from the Department of Transportation.
• A pedestrian/bicycle bridge over Northwest 41st Street near 117th Avenue to “help improve safety by avoiding the need to cross six lanes of traffic” is still in the preliminary planning stage after being approved in September. The city is waiting until after the Northwest 117th Avenue bridge over 41st Street is completed by the Florida Turnpike Enterprise. The estimated cost for the pedestrian bridge is $3.8 million but the city must apply now for Transportation Alternatives Program funding in 2021 or 2022.

Other items might make it into the discussion with lobbyists Tuesday afternoon.

Among those is the possiblity of getting federal or state environmental protection grants for the purchase of ambient air monitoring devices (estimated cost is $80,000 each) to install in the communities adjacent to the Medley Landfill and Covanta Waste to Energy Facilities. Data from these devices will “help make odor detection less subjective and will help identify the presence of noxious gases.”

Bermudez said he may also ask lobbyists for an update on any bills or legal recourses to recoup some lost hotel taxes from AirBnB, as is happening in other municipalities, and also on legislative efforts at condo association reform after the abuses of some boards were exposed by both El Nuevo Herald and Univision 23 last year.

“I’m getting a lot of complaints from homeowner association members on some of these issues.”

The legislative priorities workshop begins at 2 p.m. at Doral City Hall, 8401 NW 53rd Ter.

Is it February already? Holy moly! Time flies even when we’re not having fun.

Last week was momentuous, not just from the stuff we knew was going to happen, like the megamall approval by the Miami-Dade Commission, but from the stuff we didn’t, like the sanctuary cities buckle by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, which may finally be the straw that brings the emperor down (more on that later).

In fact, we’re sure to hear more about that later this week (see Tuesday). But please don’t blame me if Miami International Airport shuts down due to protests and we didn’t know about it.

But here are some of the other things that we do know are happening.

As always, please keep sending news about meetings, campaign rallies, political club powwows and other events to edevalle@gmail.com. We missed a Republican club shindig because we didn’t know about it (wonder how many others did, too).  So please make sure Ladra knows about your event. This is your Cortadito Calendar, after all.

MONDAY — Jan.  30

6 p.m. — The city of South Miami’s Historic Preservation Board will discuss the Sylva Martin Building, which is the only historically designated property owned and maintained by the city. Right now, the building adjacent to City Hall at 6130 Sunset Drive, houses city administrative offices one of the district offices for Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez. But it has been many things. Built in 1936 to serve as a community center, this historic building has also been a venue for clubs and fraternal organizations, a hurricane shelter, a polling place and a public library before the one adjacent to City Hall was built in the 1970s. What’s next? Go to the meeting at City Hall and find out.

TUESDAY — Jan.  31

10 a.m — Miami-Dade’s Legislative Delegation will present have a public hearing at FIU, 11200 SW 8th St. The delegation — our elected state reps and senators, both Democrat and Republican — base their legislative priorities on these public hearings so it is important that people attend. County commissioners may attend to discuss their own pet projects or programs. Among the topics open for discussion: economic development, education, environmntal concerns and natural resources, health and human resources, mental health issues, public safety, special taxing districts, children and family issues, That’s why the delegation has the Grand Courtroom in Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall until 3 p.m.

2 p.m. — The Doral City Council will have its own workshop on legislative priorities with details about each project, including storm water improvements, the stabiliation of canal banks, the widening of 87th Avenue, a pedestrian/cyclist bridge over 41st Street by the Turnpike and the installation of air monitoring devices near the Medley landfill and Covanta Waste to Energy facilities. On the table: close to $3.8 million in potential state funding (more on that later).

4:30 p.m. — Immigration activists and people who are just plain outraged that Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez would kowtow to President Donald Trump so quickly with the detention of immigrants plan to peacefully protest his actions, again, at County Hall, 111 Nw First St. Watch them be blocked out of the building, again, like they were on Friday. This event was posted by a new page on Facebook called Recall Gimenez, which is the best thing that’s happened in nine days.

6:30 p.m. — Miami-Dade Democrats will meet to discuss getting local campaign finance reform. The participants at the meeting will share information about efforts around the country and start drafting “a plan of action to tackle this issue locally.” This is probably new Florida Democratic Party Chairman Stephen Bittel‘s idea, only because the powwow is at the same building where Terranova, where he CEO and President, has their offices. Or maybe it’s just a perk.

WEDNESDAY — Feb. 1

7:30 p.m. — The West Miami City Commission meets at West Miami City Hall, 901 SW 62nd Ave. The agenda had not been posted online as of this weekend. But this is where Sen. Marco Rubio got his start so who knows if there’s another future presidential candidate in the making over there. The people sure like their West Miami electeds; the elections were cancelled last year after nobody bothered to challenge any of the incumbents, Mayor Eduardo Muhiña and commissioners Candida Blanca and Luciano L. Suarez.

THURSDAY — Feb. 2

6 p.m. — The Miami-Dade Democratic Party is having a fundraiser to help elect more blue candidates in 2018 and 2020. This looks like another one of Bittel’s actions in his first 100 days, since he is one of the hosts. Other hosts include Rafael A. Velasquez, Luciana Velasquez, Raul F. Rodriguez (who is lending his home for the event), Marcos Azevedo, Juan C. Cuba, Cynthia F. Seymour, former Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Gongora, Miami Beach commissioners Kristen Rosen-Gonzalez and Michael Grieco, who is running for mayor, and political consultant Christian Ulvert, who is likely running somebody else for mayor. Awkward. There’s also a special guest and a $1,000 “champion” contribution gets you a dinner reception with him or her — the $2,500 host level gets you a photo! — but Ladra doesn’t know who it is. Could it be DNC Treasurer Andrew Tobias? Really? Don’t worry. Contribution levels start at $25 and you still get a churrasco dinner. For more information: Rafael Velasquez at rvelasquez@sunsetgroup.org or 305-303-9098.

Once again, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez is going to be on the wrong side of history.

Thursday’s decision to kowtow to the petulant policies of our new president, Donald Trump, is a new low for Gimenez, who has instructed the corrections department to start detaining illegal immigrants that are arrested on unrelated crimes until federal authorities can pick them up.

This flies in the face of long standing county policy not to enforce federal immigration detention orders that dates to way before it was made official in 2013 with an ordinance that, for whatever legal reasons, states that the county refuses to indefinitely detain inmates wanted by immigration not because it was a “sanctuary city” — or that it was the right thing to do — but simply because the feds don’t reimburse the costs.

But we know that’s not the real reason. Because the cost is about $50,000 a year, according to the Miami Herald. That’s really not the reason. The reason was that we are a community of immigrants. Those of us who are lucky enough to be born here or have come here legally know someone who has not. They work hard cleaning and building our homes, fixing our roofs, taking care of our kids and cooking or serving our meals. Many if not most of them are decent people fleeing hardship, war, poverty and repression, trying to make a better life for themselves here.

Now, because Trump threatened to withhold federal funding — more than $350 million that is used in all kinds of services, from transportation to meals on wheels — the mayor is bending to his will. Just like he did when he almost gave Trump our public golf course on Key Biscayne. Is this a consolation prize?

Read related story: Carlos Gimenez’s next mancrush giveaway to Donald Trump

It’s a cowardly move.

Let me be clear: Ladra is all for comprehensive immigration reform that really works to make us safer. This is not it and does not do that. This net is far too broad and will have the unintentended (we hope) consequences of catching visa overstays who have been in this community working and paying taxes and following the rule of law for decades, who are mothers and fathers and students and caretakers, and puts them in deportation proceedings because they were are caught driving without a drivers license. This will split up decent, hard working families with no criminals in it. And the real criminals who are arrested for bigger crimes and typically get held longer anyway and are already sent to immigration proceedings because they are in the system that long, they will keep coming back because they are criminals and we’ve done nothing to change the porous borders.

Gimenez could have stood firm. He could have defended the immigrants — residents of his very county — instead of just bending over with a smile. He wouldn’t have been alone. The mayors of cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Syracuse and Austin have defied the order. Their legal counsels have told them that the president’s ability to just turn off the federal funding spigot is limited. There’s also a legal question as to what constitutes a sanctuary city. Miami-Dade is a county, after all, made up of 37 municipalities. Did Gimenez, who took a $15,000 contribution from Donald Trump for his campaign and went to the president’s inauguration, even consult the county attorneys or did they just not impart the same advice?

Howard Simon, executive director of the Florida American Civil Liberties Union, included his own legal opinion in a statement he made reacting to Gimenez’s move.

“At least, a court order is required, not simply a request from a federal official to keep someone detained behind bars,” Simon said. “We will resist every attempt by our government to punish immigrants, regardless of their immigration status.

“The decision made today by Mayor Giménez goes against the long history of Miami as a city of immigrants. It also goes against the advice of experts in police administration that these policies, such as Gimenez has just supported, only serve to create a wall of mistrust between the police department and our immigrant community,” Simon said.

So, what? Gimenez doesn’t need this community anymore. He certainly doesn’t need our votes ever again. He just won re-election and is termed out of office after these next four years. What he may need is for Trump to stay nice to his son, CJ Gimenez, a lobbyist who worked for The Donald in Doral and is now banking on those ties to get federal lobbying clients. 

The president sure reacted to the mayor’s actions quickly, posting on twitter about it just hours after the announcement. Like someone flagged him to the Miami Herald story. Potus tweeted: “Miami-Dade Mayor drops sanctuary policy. Right decision. Strong!”

Read related story: Mayor’s son lobbies Trump with silent, same ‘ol partners

A group of immigration rights activists have organized a protest outside Gimenez’s office at 11 a.m. Friday morning. Ladra hopes he’s not playing golf at the Biltmore Hotel. And also that the demonstrators all have their papers because the mayor could call la migra on them.

The Facebook invitation to the “Gimenez SHAME ON YOU!” protest says that Gimenez “has BETRAYED the immigrant community by bowing to Trumps racist, xenophobic, and illegal policies.  DEMAND that Mayor Gimenez and ALL elected officials in Miami-Dade County side with all immigrant women, children, and men.”

It also says that those who cannot attend can call 305-375-5071 and tell Gimenez that Miami-Dade needs to continue to be a welcoming place for immigrants.

“I’m disgusted,” said Juan Cuba, chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party. “Miami-Dade County should be a sanctuary county. We should reject Donald Trump’s hateful immigrant rhetoric and policies and make sure our elected officials represent our residents.

“There are hundreds of thousands of families who will wake up tomorrow afraid of what this means for them.”

That’s how many of us felt Nov. 9.