Minutes after the City Commission officially voted on his appointment, Miami’s new city manager said his administration will be reviewing the city’s controversial decision to enter an immigration enforcement agreement, called a 287(g) agreement, with ICE last year.

“We will be evaluating everything, including the 287(g) agreement,” James Reyes told reporters at City Hall on Thursday. “I can tell you, as it relates to 287(g), obviously, we’re going to follow the law. ... But we’re also going to ensure that our law enforcement is focusing on our community, protecting our community and enforcing municipal and state laws.”

Reyes, the head of public safety for Miami-Dade County who was the Democratic nominee for Miami-Dade sheriff in 2024, stopped short of saying the city would officially seek to exit the agreement. Newly elected Mayor Eileen Higgins — who selected Reyes — has been a vocal critic of the city’s decision to enter into the ICE agreement in June, although she cautioned that she was unsure whether the city has the legal authority to exit it.

City Attorney George Wysong declined to comment Thursday on whether the city is able to undo the agreement, which allows the city to deputize select police officers with immigration enforcement powers.

Thursday’s commission meeting was Higgins’ first as mayor. It started promptly after 9 a.m. and Higgins, as promised, was seated at the dais for its entirety. That’s a departure from her predecessor, Francis Suarez, who traveled frequently during his second term and rarely attended commission meetings beyond the morning ceremonial proceedings.

That also made Thursday the first real test of whether the commission would play ball with Higgins’ agenda. As mayor, Higgins doesn’t have a vote on the commission, but she can veto legislation, put forth legislation of her own, lobby commissioners behind closed doors to whip up votes, and select a city manager.

Higgins fell short of getting unanimous support for her choice, with the commission voting 4-1 to appoint Reyes. Commissioner Ralph Rosado was the lone no-vote, questioning Reyes’ management experience and pointing to the absence of a national search. Rosado proposed an alternative of naming Reyes interim city manager on a six-month basis, but none of his colleagues backed him.

“I am happy for you to hopefully prove me wrong,” Rosado told Reyes after the vote.

Speaking to reporters shortly after his appointment, Reyes said he was prepared for what can be a chaotic and politically fraught job overseeing the day-to-day operations of a city with about a half-million residents.

“I’ve been dealing with volatile, critical incidents where lives are on the line my entire public service career. So for me, I do my best work under pressure,” Reyes said. He added that he’s comfortable in situations with “the highest amount of stress and the highest amount of volatility. I think that’s when we do our best work.”

Reyes will be sworn in on Monday. He will earn $475,000 a year, which is $50,000 less than the $525,000 the city has been paying outgoing City Manager Art Noriega.

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