3 June 4-10, 2026 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | ▼ STATEWIDE RACKS ON RACKS FLORIDA CITIES ARE STILL PROTESTING DESANTIS’ PRIDE CROSSWALK BANS. BY B. SCOTT MCLENDON I t’s been a year since Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill requiring the Flor- ida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to remove what the state deemed “noncompliant street or sidewalk art,” a move that has since come to be widely seen as targeting rainbow crosswalks celebrating LG- BTQ pride. While Orlando officials removed pride-themed bicy- cle lanes designed by schoolchildren and a rainbow crosswalk outside the former Pulse nightclub back in August, and FDOT removed the pride crosswalks in Del- ray Beach and Key West in September and Miami Beach in Octo- ber, many Florida cities have quietly protested the directive through municipal appeals and reimagined displays. Fort Lauderdale is still fighting the move in court, with a hearing scheduled before the State Division of Admin- istrative Hearings on Wednesday, June 3. Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach city at- torneys have argued in court filings that FDOT’s Memorandum 25-01 goes beyond guidance and effectively creates new rules. They say the memo bans certain design fea- tures, orders their removal, and threatens pen- alties – including withholding state funds or having FDOT step in directly – even though such restrictions aren’t outlined in existing law. In 2025, the memorandum targeted Miami Beach’s “terrazzo pavers” at the intersection of Ocean Drive and 12th St., where you once could walk across not one, but three glorious multi-colored art-deco-style crosswalks; Fort Lauderdale’s “Progress Pride Walkway” on Sebastian St. between Seabreeze Blvd. and Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd.; Delray Beach’s pride crosswalk at the intersection of NE First St. and NE Second Ave.; and Key West’s rain- bow crosswalks at the intersection of Duval and Petronia Streets. But months later, pushback is building. In December 2025, the city of St. Pete installed pride-themed bike racks after it was forced to remove its rainbow-colored crosswalks. Miami Beach followed with a similar move this March, when it weighed installing pride bike racks to counter the crosswalk ban. City commissioners approved the move. Another defiant move came in April, when Miami Beach replaced the crosswalk destroyed by FDOT with another pride crosswalk at nearby Lummus Park. | RIPTIDE | GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS Miami Beach is getting creative in its efforts to fight pride crosswalk bans. Photo by Natasha Yee ▼ MIAMI BROKEN PROMISES MIAMI ACTIVIST GROUPS BLAST MAYOR OVER ICE AGREEMENT. BY B. SCOTT MCLENDON D espite campaigning on a promise to side with immigrants and bring an end to Mi- ami’s immigration enforcement agree- ment with federal authorities, newly elected Democratic Mayor Eileen Higgins hasn’t made any visible effort to fulfill that promise, according to the Florida Immigrant Coalition. In an effort to encourage Higgins to take the action she campaigned on, the group (along with Florida Student Power) has started a text-blast campaign directed at about 18,000 Miami resi- dents, Florida Immigrant Coalition policy consul- tant Thomas Kennedy tells New Times. The highly controversial agreement, known as 287(g), offers federal immigration enforcement training and authority to municipal police officers. Florida Immigrant Coalition sent the first message to about 8,000 Miami voters in District 2 earlier this month. “You can’t spell Eileen without L-I-E!” reads the text (attached below). “Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins promised to stop Miami police from col- laborating with ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement). Instead, Miami is the No. 1 CITY FOR IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT ENCOUN- TERS in the state, according to a Florida data- base. A BROKEN HIGGINS PROMISE. Tell Eileen Higgins to STOP THE DEPORTATION of our fami- lies and neighbors by ending Miami’s 287(g) po- lice-ICE collaboration agreement.” The text ends with a call to action asking resi- dents to contact Higgins’ office. A second blast, this one from Florida Student Power, joined the cause days later with a text sent to 10,000 voters in District 2, telling resi- dents, “Higgins campaigned heavily on restoring trust and protecting Miami’s immigrant commu- nities. But less than six months later, Miami now leads Florida in immigration enforcement under the city’s 287(g) agreement with ICE. Residents deserve an explanation for why her ironclad campaign promises were broken and changed the moment she got elected. WHY, EILEEN?” Higgins’ office didn’t respond to New Times’ request for comment. The data the texts refer to come from the State Board of Immigration Enforcement, which found that officers with the Miami Police Depart- ment have had more immigration encounters than any other city police department. in Florida. Miami’s data is comparable, even higher than in some cases, to entire counties. According to the state’s data collected since August 2025, Miami Police officers have encountered 451 undocu- mented immigrants. The next closest city police forces were Clermont (just west of Orlando), with 162 encounters, and Panama City Beach, with 153. While Higgins wasn’t on the commission last summer when officials signed the 287(g) agree- ment, she now has the power to bring the matter back up for discussion as mayor, Kennedy tells New Times. “The city should never have entered into that agreement ... There’s no reason in the city of Mi- ami that our police department should be in the job of federal immigration enforcement,” Higgins previously told WLRN. Kennedy thinks it’s an “issue of priorities, and it isn’t a priority for her,” he said. “I think it’s a pri- ority for a lot of people in our community, but not for her. “I think the City of Miami fucked up when they signed it in the first place.” [email protected] MANY FLORIDA CITIES HAVE QUIETLY PROTESTED THE DIRECTIVE THROUGH MUNICIPAL APPEALS AND REIMAGINED DISPLAYS. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images Mayor Eileen Higgins hasn’t made any visible effort to end Miami’s immigration enforcement agreement with federal authorities, says FLIC.
