AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Let's go to Miami now where yesterday, voters elected the city's first female mayor. She's also the first Democrat to be elected to that office in 28 years. With all precincts reporting, preliminary results have her winning by about 19 percentage points. So today, we reached 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 expect your first order of business will be when you start?
HIGGINS: Well, the first order of business is to make sure that we have an orderly transition from one administration to the next. But residents of Miami know I campaigned very much on making sure we had a city that worked for them. And that includes changing a lot of processes, especially things like getting the permitting process fixed for them. And then of course, sadly, our city has a history of corruption. And so that has to be stopped immediately. And we've got to do a deep dive in the budget so we can see where we can save folks money by making sure the government's efficient.
CHANG: So you've got a full plate going in. Let's talk about the campaign a little bit. The mayoral race was officially nonpartisan. But there was a ton of national campaigning in this city race, all the way to President Trump endorsing your opponent, right? So do you think the fact that you're a Democrat actually helped you win in Miami this time?
HIGGINS: I have now represented the city of Miami for eight years as their county commissioner. And I've always been a loud, proud Democrat. But I have represented a Republican part of the community. So what the people of Miami know about me is they know I'm a Democrat - they're not confused - but that when I govern, I govern for them. I don't ask what political party they are. If they need affordable housing, I make sure we build affordable housing.
CHANG: But do you think in this case, President Trump's endorsement of the other side helped or hurt you? What effect do you think it had on this race?
HIGGINS: In these days, we have this politics of trickle-down hatred that are coming from the federal government, and in our case, sadly, our state government. And that has created a whole new environment here in Miami where the residents for the very first time are afraid of government. I mean, I'm at community meetings - it's so sad - and you'll talk to someone. They'll whisper to you, my brother, my uncle. Sometimes they'll tell you they were taken to Alligator Alcatraz. Sometimes they'll tell you they don't know where they were taken. They've just been disappeared. And so unfortunately, this national anti-immigrant fervor is affecting us here in Miami. And I do think it influenced the way people voted this time.
CHANG: I mean, let's be clear, a majority of the population in Miami, it's something like 57% was born outside the U.S., right? So tell me more about what voters had been telling you about President Trump's crackdown on both legal and illegal immigration.
HIGGINS: So I'll give you an example. We have a very large Venezuelan community. And about three weeks ago, temporary protected status was eliminated. A gentleman that I know that is in the health care business - has several health clinics - received at one clinic a notice telling him he had to fire 27 people because they had lost their ability to work in America because they're Venezuelan. So that's 27 families without a breadwinner. And now you have a health clinic that is missing 27 employees to service their patients and clients. Not only is this mean and cruel and inhumane, it's just simply bad for the economy. And we need them to change direction.
CHANG: That said, Mayor-elect, how do you plan, or how much do you plan to work with the federal government on illegal immigration going forward? Because earlier this year, I understand that the city of Miami had entered an agreement with ICE that would allow Miami police officers to enforce federal immigration law. What do you think the future of that agreement's going to be under you?
HIGGINS: First of all, the city of Miami should never have signed that agreement. Now, the law is less clear about whether we can unwind that agreement. But here's what I can tell you. If the law requires us to continue with this, we are going to comply with the law. But we are going to do as little as possible because I'm not going to violate any laws. But here's what I can tell you. When I don't like the laws, you bet I am going to speak up and say the policies that are hurting our economy and our families need to be changed. We want a safe border. We want to know who's coming and going. They told us they were going to go after criminals and now they're going against everybody. That is wrong.
CHANG: Well, I just want to remind people that President Trump won voters in Miami-Dade County by 11 points in the 2024 election, the first Republican to do that in more than three decades, I believe. But you won the city of Miami yesterday with almost 60% of the vote. Does that say anything to you about how the electorate in south Florida might be changing or what it's like at this moment? What do you think?
HIGGINS: These are the same people. But they now realize that they can have a government that works for them, or they can have a government that works against them. And I believe people are beginning to realize that they need to think more carefully about who is going to be of service to them.
CHANG: Miami's mayor-elect, Eileen Higgins. Thank you and congratulations again.
HIGGINS: Thank you very much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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