In what is the most stunning vote taken by a Key West City Commission in recent memory, commissioners at 7:16 p.m., voted 6-1 to void the 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Doing so puts the city, commissioners and the police department squarely at odds with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ mandate that all local law enforcement must agree to train and deploy their officers as ICE agents when asked to do so. Only Commissioner Lissette Carey voted to keep the agreement, signed on March 4, 2025, in place.

The resolution, which passed quickly with resounding affirmation from commissioners, brought cheers and applause from a standing room-only audience. Multiple speakers during the public comment portion of the meeting hammered home the points that ICE activities on the island were unwarranted, overly aggressive and completely out of step with the One Human Family culture that has made Key West a beacon for people seeking freedom, opportunity and community.

Commissioner Donie Lee, the former police chief, said he had come to the meeting “with a gun to my head” prepared to accept that the 287(g) memo of agreement would have to remain in place. But after listening to the residents, he said he would “vote my heart” and added his “yes” vote to the resolution that was sponsored by Commissioner Monica Haskell and seconded by Commissioner Aaron Castillo.

Tea-leaf reading prior to the special meeting had the vote at 5-2 against the resolution, predicting that a majority of the commission would keep the agreement in place rather than buck the governor’s statewide warnings that he would remove elected officials and chiefs who stood against the agreements, which have been signed by all 67 county sheriffs and multiple local law enforcement agencies.

But it was clear from the first public speakers that there could be a shift occurring. About two dozen residents spoke of their personal and professional challenges as ICE has ramped up its detention activities in Key West. From disappearing neighbors and staff to economic hardships for workers and business owners, speakers made it clear that keeping the agreement in place would destroy the very things that have made Key West a mystical, even mythical, place to live.

Last week I wrote that I had reluctantly accepted the necessity of keeping the 287(g) agreement in place — only because I did not want to see Chief Sean Brandenburg lose his job to be replaced by a governor with no interest in Key West — or due process.

At tonight’s meeting, Brandenburg clearly explained the complex decision making he went through as he signed the 287(g) agreement. Let me be clear on this: Brandenburg did not step over the line. He followed existing policies and procedures and balanced those with constantly shifting state mandates. Commissioners recognized that and made sure to reaffirm their support for him and the department.

What this commission did is brave. They took the unsafe, unsure route and made a stand that Key West comes first. I am sure they are well aware of the potential ramifications, and yet tonight these six men and women did the right thing. The legal wranglings are not over. ICE will not magically disappear.

Our fight as a community is not over. We must strengthen the services we can provide to immigrants on the island who will remain terrified of being stopped and deported. We must provide sanctuary in our churches, homes, schools and businesses. It will cost us time, money, aggravation and legal challenges.

But tonight we did the right thing. With tonight’s vote, Key West made it very clear: We have taken back our island in the face of overwhelming state and national opposition. We will not be silenced or cowed.

ICE and the 287(g) memo | What’s it all about?

Both the county sheriff and the city police chief signed task force memos with ICE earlier this year, agreeing to designate and train selected city and county officers to function as ICE officers. Sheriff Rick Ramsay signed on Feb. 24 and Chief Sean Brandenburg followed on March 4. Patrick McCullah, the county’s general counsel, signed off for Monroe County. The Key West memo was reviewed and approved by then-City Attorney Ron Ramsingh.  

State news stories had for months been reporting that all 67 Florida sheriffs had signed on and other databases were tracking participants. Gov. Ron DeSantis had made it clear that Florida law enforcement needed to step up, threatening those who didn’t sign with removal from office, fines and other disciplinary actions.

The 1996 Section 287(g) of the vast body of U.S. immigration law allows local law enforcement to perform specific ICE duties under certain circumstances. Key West and Monroe County have had some variation of those agreements with the feds for years. For the most part 287(g) memos have been uncontroversial, in part because city and county law enforcement make their top priority public safety, not immigration enforcement.

Both Brandenburg and Ramsay reaffirmed those positions this month. They, like local law enforcement leaders around the state, walk a delicate line between following state and federal mandates and doing the right things at home.

So why, seemingly all of a sudden, was what historically has been pro-forma paperwork escalating to “what were they thinking” headlines, especially in Key West?

Simple: Those decades-long MOAs haven’t been on public radar until now, when five months of aggressive federal and state immigration enforcement has become synonymous with the disappearance of our neighbors, friends, families, staff and coworkers. Though there’s scant, if any, proof that deputies and cops are on the front lines of ICE enforcement, there’s often a local cop car close by when ICE is on the move — and there is plenty of evidence that ICE is out in force in the Florida Keys.

Tonight we did the right thing.