Our 2026 UUFBR annual congregational meeting went very smoothly, thanks to the hard work of many volunteers and our wonderful Administrative Assistant. In fact, it was more like an event than just a business meeting, complete with cheery decor and a delicious potluck feast beforehand. Thank you to the many hands who made it a celebration of our UU principles and values and our unique UUFBR community.

We DID do business, of course: we approved a budget for the upcoming fiscal year here and we elected leaders to the Board of Trustees (Patrick Larson, Claire Smith, and Lynn Smith) the Endowment Committee (Mitch Major and Rona Solomon), and the Nominating Committee (Myra Terry and Amanda Bowers).

But that’s just the beginning:

• Our Stewardship Team will continue to urge all members and friends to pledge generously to support the budget and enable the programs we value so highly
• Our Ministerial Search Committee will continue to receive and evaluate applications from potential ministers
• Our Program committees will continue to enrich our communal lives through worship, events, Sharex partnerships and community-building activities
• Our Endowment Committee will continue to invest and share the financial assets entrusted to us for long-range development and special projects
• Our Nominating Committee will continue to strengthen our leadership development efforts so we make full use of all talents and skills represented by our diverse community
• Our Board of Trustees will continue to move forward as stewards of our assets and coordinators of our ongoing efforts to live out our vision and mission

Please Note: Despite an erroneous statement in the meeting, the Board is able to fill the two vacancies on the Board immediately if there are members interested. If you think you’d like to serve our community in this way, please contact the Nominating Committee – we welcome new energy and ideas.

Congratulations on a productive and pleasant Annual Congregational Meeting – and thanks again to all who made it so.

Judy Keiser
Secretary

[NOTE: Meeting minutes to come]

Because of the hard work you all put into turning out 2,600 people this past March, undocumented immigrants in Palm Beach County need no longer live in fear of 2 things:

1) Being arrested for driving without a license, if they can present a consular ID. The Sheriff’s Office will accept the consular ID as valid identification. The driver without the license  will receive a citation, but will not be taken to jail.

2) Being detained / deported by ICE simply because they were driving without a license, in the absence of additional judicial authority.

In short – the meaning this has to a LOT of people’s lives in Palm Beach County is huge.  And it is all because of YOU, PEACE, and some very hard work this past Spring.

See two articles: one on the WPTV website, and one from the Palm Beach Post

All media coverage will be posted on the PEACE Facebook page.

The Press Release from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is below.

July 22, 2014

For Immediate Release                                                                                                                                MA14-96

Contact:       Media Relations 688-3080

MEDIA ADVISORY

Effective immediately, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office will no longer detain individuals with questionable immigration status based only on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) detainers absent additional judicial authority.  An I.C.E. detainer is a request for a local jail to hold individuals up to 48 hours after the local charges have been resolved; it’s an agency request only.

Historically, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) detainers were viewed as “Mandatory”, requiring jails to honor them. However, recent directives by I.C.E. describe detainers as discretionary and there have been recent Federal Court decisions articulating the same.  Therefore, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office will no longer honor the detainers absent judicial authority. PBSO will require Orders of Deportation or Warrants signed by a federal judge/magistrate, or other court related orders, to hold individuals beyond the time they would otherwise be released.

This decision comes after a long, thoughtful, and deliberate process that included meetings with the community activists group P.E.A.C.E and discussions with various legal counsels and I.C.E. Officials.

This decision in no way will affect the Sheriff’s Office commitment to securing our borders from the influx of illegal immigrants attempting to enter the U.S. illegally or the Human Trafficking associated with it.

Sheriff Bradshaw Agrees to Accept Consular IDs, Says Give Him 30 Days to Consider No Longer Honoring ICE Detainer Requests

West Palm Beach – About 20 PEACE clergy and leaders gathered outside Sheriff’s Headquarters to conduct a prayer vigil Tuesday afternoon as two representatives went inside to meet with Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and Deputy Chief Michael Gauger. The topic? Getting the Sheriff’s Office to accept consular IDs and foreign passports as a valid form of identification, and getting the Sheriff’s Office to join numerous other sheriffs’ departments around the country who have stopped their involvement with ICE detainer requests.

The meeting was a follow-up to the group’s big annual meeting, attended this year by more than 2,600 people, held on March 31st. PEACE was asking the Sheriff’s Office to allow those stopped for driving without a license to present a consular ID or a passport as a form of proper identification (which would in turn prevent them from being taken to jail), and to follow the lead of a growing number of law enforcement agencies throughout our country, and stop complying with voluntary ICE detainer requests. Sheriff Bradshaw was unable to attend, but his representative at the meeting, Deputy Chief Gauger, denied each of the requests.

Not only would such changes greatly improve the quality of life for undocumented immigrants, , but it would also positively impact public safety. The two practices of jailingpeople for driving without a license, and permitting ICE to detain people in jail without probable cause (resulting in the deportation of many low-level offenders), has seriously weakened the trust between law enforcement and the immigrant community As a result, when undocumented immigrants are either the victims of crimes or witnesses to crimes, they typically do not come forward – making crimes harder to solve and to go unchecked.

But the argument the group relied upon in Tuesday afternoon’s meeting with Bradshaw had to do with money. By spending taxpayer dollars on jailing people for driving without a license the Sheriff’s Office is wasting valuable resources. Accepting consular IDs and passports would give deputies a valid way to identify people and to avoid the costly step of jailing them. Hundreds of law enforcement agencies throughout the country are doing just this, PEACE argued, and our PBSO should follow suit.

With regard to the ICE detainer requests, PEACE presented the Sheriff with two recent court decisions (Miranda-Olivares v. Clackamas County, and Galarza v. Szalczyk) which held that not only is compliance with ICE detainers completely voluntary, but that sheriff’s offices (not ICE) are liable for holding people without probable cause. ICE detainer requests are not warrants nor are they accompanied by a judicial finding of probable cause. As a result, the number of localities throughout the country which have chosen to stop complying with ICE detainer requests has risen to over 100.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Sheriff agreed to instruct deputies to begin accepting as proof of identity and proof of local residence, the consular ID that has a local address. We continue to explore ways to permit acceptance of passports from foreign countries as valid ID, provided there is some other proof of local residence.Finally, given the new information presented by PEACE, the Sheriff will review the issue of compliance ICE detainer requests, within the next 30 days,

“We’re greatly encouraged,” said Fr. Nestor Rodriguez, pastor of St. Ann Catholic Church and PEACE Member. “Acceptance of the consular ID means that immigrants no longer need to fear being jailed for driving without a license – and this will make a huge difference in their lives. At the same time, it will save the Sheriff’s Office money. We remain hopeful that the Sheriff will do the right thing on the ICE detainer requests as well.

Here is a PDF of an advance copy of the AGENDA.