Miramar Circle of Protection María Bilbao/AFSC
As a faith-based organization, AFSC is grounded in the belief that immigrants—and all people—should be treated with dignity and have their human rights respected. We recognize that challenging times lie ahead of us in Florida, and we stay committed to advocating for immigrants all across Florida.
The Miramar Circle of Protection
Since 2017, we have monitored abuses within the Miramar Protection Circle. Our presence is more crucial now than ever. Trump promised mass deportations, and during his term in 2017, we witnessed the detention of thousands of immigrants under supervision in these facilities. We will continue to expose these injustices and advocate against them.
During the month of September at the Miramar Circle of Protection, we stood as witnesses and companions to families facing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s cruelty and arbitrariness. Week after week, volunteers have gathered to offer water, food, and solidarity, while also documenting abuses: an 83-year-old man denied entry despite his appointment; young workers with valid documents detained on their way to jobs; and a Guatemalan family torn apart as agents shackled a mother in front of her four-year-old daughter.
Amnesty International conducted a visit to the Circle this month and learned about our work, hearing directly about the abuses we have been witnessing. At the same time, we celebrated the arrival of the new Broward Hub, which will now hold its own monthly Circle of Protection, expanding this movement of dignity and love. Together, we resist the dehumanization of immigrants, affirming that no one should face detention, humiliation, or separation alone.
What is happening in the policy world in Florida
In the month of September, our state and federal governments continued to attack immigrant communities. We are still in the middle of a government shutdown, with Republicans blaming immigrant communities for the current gridlock in Congress. A government shutdown happens when Congress is unable to pass a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
The Everglades Concentration Camp, also known as Alligator Alcatraz, remains open. This comes at a time where The Miami Herald has reported that over 1,200 migrants who were held at the center are now missing. Florida Governor DeSantis has opened Deportation Depot and is seeking a new place for Panhandle Pokie—make no mistake, even though the names may seem harmless, these new detention centers will be places where human rights will be violated. Every Sunday, interfaith vigils are held in front of the Everglades Concentration Camp from 5-6 PM.
Florida's legislative session begins early this year, and will span from January to March. We are keeping a close eye on bills that will harm our communities, while seeking ways to push bills that will protect our families and homes.
What is happening with detentions in Florida
Only a few days into September, an appeals court lifted a lower-court injunction on the new detention camp in the Everglades, and what the state calls “Alligator Alcatraz” became by mid-month a primary destination for arrests we observed at immigration court hearings and supervision check-ins. The lack of any visitation or incoming communication, and for most of the month even a way to verify that someone is being held there, has isolated detainees from families and, though we continue to provide what we can, limited the information and guidance we can give to them.
Meanwhile, immigration agents have been explicitly using the threat of the camp, indefinite detention, or removal to unrelated countries to coerce “self-deportation” agreements. Shortly after noticing through the online detainee locator a number of transfers in quick succession that sent people from countries with limited US relations to the other side of the country, we heard from families and others about a scheme to wear down people who have been persistently fighting their removal while in detention, and (failing that) ICE trying to simply leave them on the Mexican side of the land border.
It’s through communication with the detained and their families that tactics like this, devised in secret and carried out away from public view, can be identified and understood, and so we continue to be present and make what connections we can in these places of contact between ICE and our community.
Seeds of Resistance Youth Program
AFSCs Florida's youth group, Seeds of Resistance, is preparing to have a Teen Volunteering Fair at the Homestead Library. Seeds of Resistance is also preparing to have a cohort to take place at the Homestead Library with about 46 youth attending! In this cohort youth from ages between 15 and 22 years old, will learn how to defend their communities from climate change, heal trauma and challenges anti-immigrant policies through our trauma-informed artivism, community organizing, and leadership development.
Stay tuned!
Valeria Maldonado
Florida Youth Organizer
Learn more about AFSC Florida and sign up for updates.