FAC Letter to Miami-Dade Homeless Trust
FAC has sent a letter to the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust after the City of Miami is about to impose a new ordinance allowing officers to arrest homeless registrants without the safeguard offered to other homeless individuals – the offer to be housed in a shelter.
We have copied all Miami-Dade County Commissioners and are sending copies of the letter to some South Florida news outlets.
You can read the letter here: FAC Letter to M-D Homeless Trust 07292026
If anyone would like to contact the Homeless Trust directly or any of the commissioners ([email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]) you can do so.
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Emailed also
Max Klaver (Economic Mobility Reporter)Email: [email protected]
Amelia Orjuela Da Silva (Staff Writer / Community Journalist)Direct Email: [email protected]
Steve Majeri (Broadcast & Digital Multimedia Journalist)General News Tips Email: [email protected]
Thank you FAC for NOT BACKING DOWN ON ANYTHING!!! EVER FORWARD!!!
Ditto!!
ALL EMAILED- Please take the time
Constitutional Concerns from a Veteran: Miami’s New Homelessness Ordinance
Dear Commissioner (Name),
As a retired U.S. Army veteran who fought to defend our Constitution, and as someone directly impacted as a registered sex offender, I am writing to express grave concerns regarding the City of Miami’s recent 3-to-2 vote amending its homelessness ordinance. This amendment, which permits police officers to make immediate arrests without a prior written warning, represents a dangerous step backward in public policy. More alarmingly, it contains an explicitly discriminatory provision targeting individuals on the sex offender registry—a population already systematically legislated into homelessness by existing county policies. By stripping this specific group of the mandatory offer of shelter before arrest, the city is actively constructing a legal trap that criminalizes unavoidable human existence, inviting serious federal civil rights litigation.
The statistic is as undeniable as it is staggering: nearly one-third of all individuals required to register as sex offenders in Miami-Dade County are currently experiencing homelessness. This is not a matter of personal choice or a refusal of services. This crisis is directly engineered by state and local legislation, specifically the county’s Lauren Book Child Safety Act, which enforces an aggressive 2,500-foot residency restriction. Because this restriction renders the vast majority of standard housing options illegal, the state effectively mandates homelessness for this population. Compounding this, these individuals cannot seek refuge in emergency shelters, as no facilities managed by the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust will accept individuals on the registry.
The newly amended ordinance exploits this systemic failure through a deeply troubling clause:
> “Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing herein shall be construed to prevent or otherwise prohibit a police officer from arresting a person in violation of this section who is ineligible for shelter placement for any reason including, but not limited to… such person’s status as a sexual offender, sexual predator, or domestic violence offender…”
By embedding this language, the city has created a paradoxical and unconstitutional enforcement mechanism. A person listed on Florida’s registry can now be arrested immediately, without a written warning and without being offered shelter, solely because their registry status makes them ineligible for shelter placement. The city is effectively stating that if a person is prohibited from housing by county law, and excluded from shelters by policy, they will be jailed for remaining on the street.
The City of Miami does not have to look far to understand the legal consequences of this approach. In *Cross v. City of Sarasota* (Case No. 8:16-cv-01646-MSS-AEP), the U.S. District Court approved a settlement requiring Sarasota to implement a “bed-first” enforcement policy after constitutional challenges were brought under the Eighth Amendment. The litigation established that arresting people for sleeping outdoors when they have no realistic legal alternative raises significant constitutional concerns.
Miami’s amended ordinance appears to move in the opposite direction by expressly removing the shelter requirement for individuals whose registry status already prevents them from accessing available shelter. This creates a situation where compliance is impossible, yet criminal penalties remain unavoidable.
As my district representative, I respectfully ask that you review this ordinance, evaluate its constitutional implications, and advocate for policies that address homelessness without selectively criminalizing individuals who have been left with no lawful housing or shelter options. Public safety and constitutional protections should not be treated as competing interests. Our community deserves policies that are both effective and legally sound.
Having served this country to defend the Constitution, I believe our local governments have the same obligation to uphold it. I respectfully urge you to raise this issue with your fellow commissioners, city leadership, and legal counsel before this ordinance results in costly litigation and further harms vulnerable residents.
Thank you for your service to our district and for your careful consideration of this important matter.
**Sincerely,**
Ryan Anderson
U.S. Army, Retired
—
**Formal Legal & Media References**
* Federal Case Precedent: *Cross, et al. v. City of Sarasota, Florida, et al.*, Case No. 8:16-cv-01646, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
* ACLU of Florida: *Cross v. City of Sarasota* settlement materials.
* WLRN News reporting regarding the City of Miami’s 3-2 vote amending the homelessness ordinance.
* Miami-Dade Homeless Trust policies regarding shelter eligibility.
Here are the current Miami-Dade County Commissioners and their official district email addresses:
District 1 — Oliver G. Gilbert III — [email protected]
District 2 — Marleine Bastien — [email protected]
District 3 — Keon Hardemon — [email protected]
District 4 — Micky Steinberg — [email protected]
District 5 — Vicki L. Lopez — [email protected]
District 6 — Natalie Milian Orbis — [email protected]
District 7 — Raquel A. Regalado — [email protected]
District 8 — Danielle Cohen Higgins — [email protected]
District 9 — Kionne L. McGhee — [email protected]
District 10 — Anthony Rodriguez — [email protected]
District 11 — Roberto J. Gonzalez — [email protected]
District 12 — Juan Carlos Bermudez — [email protected]
District 13 — René Garcia — [email protected]
So we can now be arrested for being homeless? That is the lowest of low so far. No place to live by ordinance, yet that same ordinance gets you free room and board in the jail? I am amazed each month of how we are treated when we all are just trying to live our lives and be a better person. But since we are harassed and held down, it is an uphill battle so steep for some that even a ladder couldn’t help climb out of their situation.
When we will eventually become humans and not “Those people”.
If you get a chance, please contact Mayor Higgins and remind her that a policy that creates homelessness and then criminalizes the homeless person for the consequences created by that legislation, is not a public safety solution. It is a revolving door. Encourage her to veto the bill until the County’s Homeless Trust has an opportunity to come up with a solution.
We all know the fight for our freedoms is getting closer to home. Every new law and ordinance has the potential to affect our daily lives in ways many people never expected.
What happens when the supervisor handling your registry or compliance passes away and a new sheriff comes in with a completely different mindset—focused on enforcing every letter of the law? That’s exactly what happened in my county. After the change, enforcement became much stricter. I was cited for failure to register, and now compliance checks seem to happen every six months.
I’m not sharing this to scare anyone. I’m sharing it because now is the time to speak up, stay informed, and make your voice heard. Our rights are worth defending, and silence only makes it easier for more restrictions to take hold. Remember, they already have your information—and it’s often shared anyway. Stay engaged, stay united, and never stop standing up for the freedoms that make this country strong.
I would add to this to also comment on any online article that you can relate this to. Speak out in any way you can and remind people that those convicted of a sex offense…1. may have been a minor offense (as opposed to a major offense). 2. the recidivism rate is the 2nd lowest of all offenses. The government scares the public needlessly for their own benefit – to get votes and donations! 3. the ones you really need to fear are the ones closest to your children…teachers, coaches, clergy, etc.
Mary, you are 100% correct. There are children on the registry, people with cognitive disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder, and elderly individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia who are also subject to these requirements.
How can people with these types of impairments be expected to meet the same standards under any SORNA (Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act) laws, whether federal or state, when they may not fully understand or be able to comply with the requirements?
I learned this through my own experience with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and a failure-to-register charge. It felt like my cognitive impairments were not taken into account during the criminal justice process, especially here in Florida.
The sad part about the whole thing is if you can’t get a court to do their job and then these unconstitutional policies strictly on the court at this point
FAC will be filling soon they said within weeks why we need to speak out now!!!