Business owners, residents and activists gathered outside Doral City Hall on Wednesday morning to ask city leaders to rescind the city’s 287(g) agreement with ICE. The agreement lets Doral police cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Supporters say fear of arrests is keeping customers away.
Eleazar Guevara, owner of La Sabrosita Parrilla & Grill on the terrace of the Wingate by Wyndham hotel, said he may not be able to keep the restaurant open. He shared a video from Aug. 29 showing about 150 people at the restaurant. A later video, recorded about a month afterward, showed an empty dining room. He now serves no more than 10 customers a day, open Thursday through Sunday, and estimates business is down about 80%. He blames immigration arrests in Doral.
After the council meeting, Guevara gave Mayor Christi Fraga a petition with 170 signatures from Doral families. Fraga said city records show local officers have not taken part in immigration enforcement operations. She said she asked Florida’s attorney general about withdrawing from the agreement, and the guidance she received suggested leaving could put the city at odds with state law.
Jeannette Infante, an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center, disputed that Florida law requires the city to have the agreement. Guevara said he wants stronger assurances that Doral police are not helping ICE, including through phone calls to federal agents. Community members said they will keep pressing the council on the issue.
Guevara said he is weighing whether he can keep the restaurant running. “Maybe one more week, two weeks,” he said.