New Miami mayor-elect on ‘trickle-down hatred’ of federal immigration policy : NPR

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Now let’s go to Miami, where yesterday voters elected the city’s first female mayor. She is also the first Democrat to be elected to this position in 28 years. With all precincts reporting, the preliminary results have her up by about 19 percentage points. So today we reached out to Miami Mayor-elect Eileen Higgins. Welcome and congratulations.

EILEEN HIGGINS: Well, thank you very much. It’s a pleasure to be here.

CHANG: So what do you think your first task will be when you start?

HIGGINS: Well, the first thing is to make sure that we have an orderly transition from one administration to the next. But the people of Miami know that I campaigned for us to have a city that works for them. And that involves changing a lot of processes, especially things like fixing the authorization process for them. And then of course, unfortunately, our city has a history of corruption. This must therefore stop immediately. And we need to dig deeper into the budget to see where we can save people money by making government efficient.

CHANG: So you have a full plate. Let’s talk a little about the campaign. The mayoral race was officially nonpartisan. But there was a ton of national campaigning in this city race, right up until President Trump endorsed your opponent, right? So do you think being a Democrat actually helped you win in Miami this time?

HIGGINS: I have represented the city of Miami for eight years as a county commissioner. And I have always been a loud and proud Democrat. But I represented a Republican part of the community. So what the people of Miami know about me is that they know that I’m a Democrat – they’re not confused – but that when I govern, I govern for them. I’m not asking what political party it is. If they need affordable housing, I make sure we build affordable housing.

CHANG: But do you think that in this case, President Trump’s support for the other side helped or hurt you? What effect do you think that had on this race?

HIGGINS: These days we have this politics of hate coming from the federal government and, in our case, unfortunately, our state government. And it’s created a whole new environment here in Miami where residents are afraid of the government for the first time. I mean, I go to community meetings – it’s so sad – and you’ll talk to someone. They will whisper to you, my brother, my uncle. Sometimes they will tell you that they were taken to Alligator Alcatraz. Sometimes they will tell you that they don’t know where they were taken. They just disappeared. Unfortunately, this national anti-immigration fervor is affecting us here in Miami. And I think that influenced the way people voted this time.

CHANG: I mean, let’s be clear, the majority of Miami’s population, about 57 percent, was born outside of the United States, right? So tell me more about what voters have told you about President Trump’s crackdown on legal and illegal immigration.

HIGGINS: So I’ll give you an example. We have a very large Venezuelan community. And about three weeks ago, the temporary protected status was removed. A man I know who works in health care – he owns several health clinics – received a notice at one clinic that he had to lay off 27 people because they had lost their ability to work in America because they were Venezuelan. That makes 27 families without a breadwinner. And now you have a health clinic that is short 27 employees to serve its patients and clients. Not only is it cruel and inhumane, it’s just plain bad for the economy. And we need them to change direction.

CHANG: That said, mayor-elect, how do you plan, or to what extent do you plan to work with the federal government on illegal immigration in the future? Because earlier this year, I understand that the city of Miami entered into an agreement with ICE that would allow Miami police officers to enforce federal immigration law. What do you think will be the future of this agreement under your leadership?

HIGGINS: First of all, the city of Miami should never have signed this agreement. Today the law is less clear as to whether we can cancel this agreement. But here’s what I can tell you. If the law requires us to continue this, we will comply with the law. But we’re going to do as little as possible because I won’t break any laws. But here’s what I can tell you. When I don’t like the laws, you bet I’m going to speak up and say that policies that are hurting our economy and our families need to be changed. We want a secure border. We want to know who is coming and going. They told us they were going to go after criminals and now they’re going after everyone. This is false.

CHANG: Well, I just want to remind people that President Trump won Miami-Dade County voters by 11 points in the 2024 election, the first Republican to do that in over three decades, I believe. But yesterday you won the city of Miami with almost 60% of the votes. Does this tell you anything about how the South Florida electorate might be changing or where it is right now? What do you think?

HIGGINS: They’re the same people. But they now realize that they can have a government that works for them or a government that works against them. And I think people are starting to realize that they need to think more carefully about who is going to be helpful to them.

CHANG: Miami Mayor-elect Eileen Higgins. Thank you and congratulations again.

HIGGINS: Thank you very much.

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