Will Key West defy Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the national immigration crackdown?

Key West's mayor wants to cave. Commissioners meet July 8 to respond to the state's Attorney General.

As the Trump administration’s voracious policing of the US immigrant population only grows stronger, little Key West, Florida, is caught in the national spotlight and political crosshairs.

What happened?

Key West is one of only two Florida cities currently not partnering their local police with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE].

That’s a huge break from the rest of Florida, where all 67 sheriffs were ordered to sign a 287(g) agreement with ICE, which means local officers receive federal training and participate in federal immigration operations.

The city commission will meet in special session at 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 8 to respond to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s order for them to reverse their June 30 decision, that ended their police force’s partnership with ICE.

Members of the Key West Immigrant Support Network on June 30, 2025, cheer the 6-1 vote by their city commission to void the agreement local police had to help ICE agents patrol the island. JORDAN UPCHURCH/contributed

Only two South Florida cities stand on the opposite side of the Trump administration’s wishes:

South Miami wants a judge to decide whether Florida law in fact requires cities to sign up, and has a lawsuit pending.

And Key West last week voided the 287(g) agreement their police chief had signed with ICE on March 4, without running it by them first.

Kaufman told me he only learned of the agreement three months later, amid residents and business owners demanding an explanation for watching ICE agents take people into custody on the streets, without answers from local police.

The procedural decision was widely reported as straight-up defiance, although on paper the reasoning is that the contract hadn’t been properly reviewed.

They added to the resolution that Key West is not a sanctuary city, but Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier says their decision in itself violates state law.

Key West City Commissioners must decide on July 8, how to respond to the Florida Attorney General’s orders and threats of removal from office.

Key West City Commissioner Sam Kaufman, center, speaks with Lucy Hawk and Heather Slivko-Bathurst, who helped form the Key West Immigrant Support Network in June 2025.

Mayor Danise “Dee Dee” Henriquez wants Key West to cave and reverse the June 30 decision that voided the 287(g) agreement between ICE and KWPD.

The mayor’s proposed resolution on the July 8 agenda states:

'“The City Commission acknowledges the significant danger posed by illegal aliens with criminal records, as evidenced by recent arrests in the Florida Keys, including individuals with convictions for serious offenses such as sexual battery, homicide, and drug trafficking…

…It is in the best interest of the City of Key West to comply with state and federal laws and to ensure the safety and security of its residents by reinstating the 287(g) agreement.”

—From a proposed resolution for the July 8 meeting, placed on the agenda by Mayor Danise “Dee Dee” Henriquez

Key West Police Chief Sean Brandenburg, who was jeered by some in the audience with one person in the back calling him a ‘Nazi,’ tells city commissioners he was advised by law enforcement officials he had to sign the 287(g) agreement with ICE in March 2025. Commissioners, though, didn’t know of the agreement until months later.

Henriquez was among the six who voted to end KWPD’s 287(g), along with Commissioners Mary Lou Hoover, Monica Haskell, Donie Lee, Sam Kaufman and Aaron Castillo.

‘Conservatives like me who support law enforcement’

The only one of the seven to dissent was Commissioner Lissette Carey, who’s immersed in a scandal related to the former city building department chief who’s indicted on organized fraud charges.