Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins said she intends to restrict cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the minimum required by law, signaling a major shift in the city’s posture toward federal immigration enforcement even as Florida maintains a state mandate requiring local compliance, as reported by The Gateway Pundit.
Higgins, Miami’s first Democratic mayor in nearly three decades, made the remarks Sunday during an appearance on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan on CBS News.
She acknowledged that Miami currently complies with Florida’s requirement that local governments cooperate with ICE but said her administration will not go beyond what the law compels.
Miami Democrat Mayor Eileen Higgins Vows to Obstruct ICE and Limit Cooperation With Federal Immigration Enforcement https://t.co/wWlegSkNVa
— The Gateway Pundit (@gatewaypundit) February 3, 2026
During the interview, host Margaret Brennan asked whether Higgins could change Miami’s cooperation policy without support from the governor.
“The governor issued a requirement that local municipalities cooperate with ICE, and many municipalities, including the City of Miami, before I became mayor, signed that agreement. It is very difficult to unwind. It would take a vote of our city commission to do so,” Higgins said.
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“So obviously, as mayor, I intend to comply with the law. And so what we have done in our 1,500-person police department is we have trained three individuals—should ICE call—who are able to answer that call and work with them. Obviously, we’re going to comply with the law, but we are not going to help beyond that.”
Higgins argued that immigration enforcement has had a negative impact on South Florida communities, claiming ICE operations have created fear among residents.
“Because in my community, in South Florida, we are the most affected. ICE and its tactics have been in my community for over a year. They have been causing great fear and terror among our residents,” Higgins said.
“I cannot go anywhere without meeting someone—my brother, my uncle, my sister—‘Alligator Alcatraz.’ No sabemos dónde está. We don’t know where they have been taken. And that has been going on for months.”
She continued, “It is inhumane. It is cruel. I’m a Catholic. I can barely grapple with the lack of humanity around all this.”
Higgins also focused heavily on Temporary Protected Status, saying Miami has a higher share of TPS recipients than other cities in Miami-Dade County.
She claimed approximately 15 percent of Miami’s population has held TPS and said between 250,000 and 300,000 individuals nationwide have lost that status over time and become “overnight ‘illegals’ in the eyes of the federal government,” using her words.
She said enforcement actions have driven members of Nicaraguan, Honduran, Venezuelan, and Haitian communities into hiding and claimed children are missing school as a result.
Higgins highlighted an upcoming change affecting Haitian TPS recipients.
“Tuesday night, we face a very dire situation. Our Haitian community loses its access to TPS at midnight,” she said.
“Twenty percent of TPS recipients with Haitian status are in health care. On Wednesday, we are talking about nursing homes, home health care aides, hospitals, nurses, physician assistants—all of them are going to be out of a job when they wake up on Wednesday morning.”
When Brennan noted that the loss of legal status would revoke their legal pathway, Higgins responded, “—unnecessarily.
Haiti is not safe. Venezuela is not safe. TPS should be extended immediately for Venezuelans. It was erased with a stroke of a pen. It could be put in place with a stroke of a pen.”
“TPS for Haitian immigrants should absolutely, positively be extended. Our economy is at stake, and our humanity is at stake,” she added.
Over 1.6 MILLION illegals are in Florida
“Nearly 7% of Florida is undocumented”
THAT’S 1,642,200 ILLEGALS (and that’s only what we know of)
Democrat Mayor of Miami Florida Eileen Higgins says she will try not to cooperate with illegal immigration enforcement as much as… pic.twitter.com/6jKH6ZjrVG
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) February 2, 2026
The comments follow Higgins’ election victory over Trump-endorsed candidate Emilio Gonzalez and signal an early effort by the new administration to reshape Miami’s relationship with federal immigration authorities.
While Higgins said Miami will comply with state law, her remarks made clear that cooperation with ICE will be limited to a narrow channel, setting up a potential clash with state leaders who have pushed for stronger enforcement against illegal aliens across Florida.
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