Groups sue Miami-Dade County over immigration holds

MIAMI – Immigrants and immigrant rights groups are challenging Miami-Dade County’s policy of holding immigrants for federal officials.

WeCount, the Florida Immigrant Coalition and others filed a federal lawsuit Monday.

The lawsuit challenges the county’s decision to comply with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer requests. It claims the immigration detainers are unconstitutional, among other reasons, because people are being held without probable cause.

Miami-Dade County had previously been a so-called sanctuary city, limiting its co-operation with federal immigration officials. That changed last year after President Donald Trump and the U.S. Department of Justice threated to withhold federal funding from such local governments.

The county attorney’s office didn’t immediately reply to a message from The Associated Press.