Miramar Circle of Protection
Throughout May, the Miramar Circle of Protection continued to observe the same general patterns as in previous months. Many individuals with Orders of Supervision were issued follow-up appointments scheduled approximately one year out. In cases where individuals had upcoming immigration court hearings, shorter follow-up dates appeared to correspond to those timelines.
At the same time, we continued to witness the profound human impact of immigration enforcement on families arriving at the Miramar ICE office. Many of the people we meet are placed in removal proceedings after arrests resulting from local law enforcement collaboration with ICE under 287(g) agreements. These partnerships turn routine traffic stops and minor encounters with police into pathways to detention and possible deportation, creating fear and instability for families across our community.
In May, we held a special Mother’s Day gathering to honor immigrant mothers who sacrifice so much to build a better future for their children. Many of these women have crossed unfamiliar lands and endured enormous challenges with courage, love, and determination. We celebrated their resilience and the essential role they play in holding their families and communities together. As we reminded participants that day: a mother’s love cannot be deported.
We also continued to hear troubling firsthand accounts about conditions inside the Miramar ICE facility. According to individuals directly impacted, approximately 20 people were held in a single room, sleeping on the floor, with very little food and no privacy in the bathroom area, which was reportedly monitored by a camera. Several people told us that additional detainees were brought in while they were being held, suggesting that multiple rooms may be used to detain people for extended periods.
We also witnessed a concerning incident involving a man who attended his Order of Supervision appointment and was initially released with a follow-up date for next year. When he arrived home, however, ICE agents were waiting outside and detained him. Fortunately, his attorney and wife were able to intervene quickly, clarify the situation, and secure his release.
These experiences underscore that, even when check-in outcomes appear less severe, immigrant families remain vulnerable to detention, uncertainty, and financial hardship. The Miramar Circle of Protection will continue to show up every Wednesday to accompany families, document what we witness, and respond to urgent needs with compassion and solidarity.
Support the Circle! If you’d like to support the Miramar Circle of Protection, you can donate here. Snacks, juices, and toys are always needed and deeply appreciated.
Photos: María Bilbao/AFSC
Florida policy
During May, the Trump Administration continued to push policies that create chaos in our communities, but we also know a deep truth: when we organize, we protect each other. President Trump signed an executive order providing more guidance to banks, encouraging them to look for “red flags” that someone opening up a bank account may not have a legal permanent immigration status.
For months, the Trump Administration had been threatening to require banks to collect information on their customers' immigration status, and thankfully, that did not happen. The guidance that was issued through the executive order is less chaotic than what the Trump Administration was pushing for, but it is still creating fear in our communities.
We continue to wait for the Supreme Court decisions that would decide the future of birthright citizenship and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti. The Trump Administration had tried to end birthright citizenship on its first day in power, but organizations like the ACLU immediately sued, pointing to the 14th Amendment. When it comes to TPS for Haiti, advocates claim that former DHS Secretary Noem ended TPS for Haitians based on lies. Then Secretary Noem claimed that the conditions in Haiti were well enough that nationals could return, knowing full well that the country was still rocked by violence.
At the local level, Florida Governor DeSantis continues to push for immigration enforcement operations. In May, DeSantis touted the 287(g) agreements as successful, and we know that Florida leads in many ways when it comes to separating families. Since January, 287(g) agreements have increased by over 500% in Florida. We are still pushing to end the 287(g) agreements.
Detentions in Florida
May 6 brought the heavily anticipated decision in the 11th Circuit case concerning the administration's purported reinterpretation of the Immigration and Nationality Act to require detention without opportunity for bond of every non-citizen present in the country who was not admitted at their last entry. Joining the 2nd Circuit and followed shortly after by the 6th Circuit, the court rejected the reasoning that had prompted DHS to arrest and attempt to indefinitely detained thousands of people Congress never contemplated detaining, and established that, for a large class of people, immigration judges must affirmatively decide someone is either a public danger or flight risk in order to hold them in immigration detention in Alabama, Georgia, or Florida. Most people covered by the decision will still need to post large bonds, in many cases more than $10,000, but in principle they should now be able to avoid a complicated federal court process and the legal costs involved to do so.
The timing on that decision was fortunate, too, because within days of it, multiple outlets confirmed recent rumors: the detention camp set up by Florida in the Everglades is in the process of shutting down. The progress and timeline continues to be unclear, even by the beginning of June, but congressional visits have directly confirmed a gradual teardown of the camp infrastructure, and though ICE still has failed to publish its statutorily required biweekly detention population updates for almost two months now, the population at the Everglades has reportedly dropped below half of what it was at its peak. Some of that reduction is due to people getting released, by court order or bond hearings—but many are also being transferred to other facilities across the country, with daily (and sometimes multiple) shuttle flights between the Everglades and the detention hub in Louisiana.
It is that latter fact that is most worrisome, because Louisiana is within one of the appeals circuits whose judges have agreed with the government's new detention policy. Someone who may be entitled to release on bond in Florida as of this month could, if transferred before they get that hearing, end up in a detention center in Louisiana or Texas where they currently have no right to one. It makes securing legal representation to as many people as possible an extremely important and time-sensitive matter, and to that end the Worker's Circle and the Sanctuary of the South are spearheading a program to get legal aid to as many Everglades detainees as possible, before they are moved out of the state.
May 22 marked the one-year anniversary in Miami of the cruel scheme to yank people out of their immigration court proceedings in order to arrest, detain, and coerce people to agree to drop their asylum claims. Immediately following the 11th Circuit decision, which in theory and practice has made release on bond possible for many of the people targeted, ICE's agents were for nearly two weeks completely absent from the Miami courthouse.
Unfortunately, on the 14th day they returned, and exactly one year after they started, the arrests resumed again. Still, between that two-week break and the reduction that has come from no longer targeting Cuban nationals, May has easily been the month with the fewest courthouse arrests since they started, with only around 10 observed or documented arrests over the entire month.
Seeds of Resistance Youth Program
Big news from Seeds of Resistance: we’re excited to share that planning is officially in the process for our new cohort at the Naranja Branch Library in Homestead! This upcoming cohort is set to launch between mid-May and early June, and we can’t wait to bring together a powerful community of young creatives and leaders.
And that’s not all—our Summer Academy is also in the works! We’re gearing up for an inspiring, high-energy program this July filled with creativity, growth, and connection. Stay tuned more details and your official invitation are coming soon! Above you can see pictures from previous cohorts.
Learn more about AFSC Florida and sign up for updates.