The small Miami village, just north of El Portal and south of North Miami, mirrored South Miami and Key West leaders' decisions by unanimously voting against the agreement last week. Within a week, Key West commissioners signed the agreement under pressure from Uthmeier's threat to remove them from office.
At last week's meeting, Miami Shores officials said they want to see how South Miami's legal challenge against Uthmeier plays out.
Miami-area cities have been signing agreements since President Donald Trump took office this year and began heavy-handed immigration arrests and deportations.
South Miami city attorneys in March filed for a declaratory judgment on whether municipalities are legally compelled to sign 287(g) agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The agreement grants municipal police officers immigration enforcement powers. Uthmeier and Governor Ron DeSantis argue that cities refusing to sign it violate the law by effectively adopting an illegal sanctuary policy.
"Our legal office is directly involved in the case, and there has not been a ruling on its merit," Miami Shores Mayor Jerome Charles said at the July 15 meeting. "Until that matter is resolved, I believe it would be premature for the village to move forward. Deferring this item allows us to assess the legal landscape more fully and ensures we are acting responsibly with both our obligations and the best interests of our community."
It wasn't immediately clear whether Miami Shores had joined South Miami's lawsuit. Miami Shores isn't listed as a plaintiff, according to Leon County records. Miami Shores officials didn't respond to multiple requests for comment.
The vote to defer was unanimous, eliciting immediate applause from the crowd. Nearly a dozen residents spoke after the vote in support of the decision, including Thomas Kennedy, New Times contributor and policy analyst for the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
"Miami Shores is not legally mandated to sign this 287(g) agreement," he said at the meeting. "Not per statute 9.11, which basically delineates that entities that operate county detention facilities and prisons have to do this. So you guys are completely in the right.
"I think it's wise to wait for the South Miami declaratory judgment. And you guys made the right voice to protect the well-being of immigrants, the financial interests of your residents, and avoid liability for the city."
Miami Shores Village Police Officers' Retirement System Board Trustee Clark Reynolds agreed the deferral was the right decision because the legal landscape is too murky, he said at the meeting.
"And particularly, we don't know what's involved and what the expense might be," he said. "And until we have a handle on that, I would hate to see us whittle away the good things we've been doing."
Others voiced concern not over statutes, but how the policy could tear at the fabric of the community.
"Trump first said he was coming after illegals, then citizens by birthright to undocumented parents, then naturalized citizens with a prior criminal offense. Who is next? When will the line be drawn?" Isabelle Rostain, a Miami Shores resident, said during public comment. "I am sympathetic to the fears of our police chief that his job may be in jeopardy if he doesn't comply."
On July 8, Uthmeier filed a motion to dismiss the South Miami suit, arguing that the city lacks standing, the case isn't "ripe," and the claims are meritless, according to court filings.
Uthmeier begins his argument by blaming former President Joe Biden for creating an "unprecedented immigration crisis," before blaming South Miami for unwarranted retaliation.
"Though neither the governor nor the attorney general have threatened enforcement against them, the City of South Miami and its mayor now seek sweeping declarations about their obligations," he writes in the July 8 filing. However, his July 2 post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, seems to indicate otherwise.
"The court should have none of it," he writes in the filing. "Most fundamentally, plaintiffs lack standing to sue defendants and their claims are unripe. Even if they could clear those hurdles, their claims fail on the merits."The City of Key West violated state law when they voted to void the Key West Police Department’s 287(g) agreement with ICE.
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) July 2, 2025
We will not allow this unlawful sanctuary policy in Florida. They have a choice: stop impeding law enforcement from enforcing immigration law or face the… pic.twitter.com/tATKp4CNCp
