The South Florida Roundup

On the South Florida Roundup, we sorted fact from fiction — but acknowledged the fear — when it comes to the immigration policing agreements several South Florida cities just struck with the Trump Administration (01:11). We also looked at the results from important local elections in Broward and Palm Beach Counties: Can Deerfield Beach still be great again (19:06)? And we examined how last month’s ghastly homicides in Tamarac could affect a new push to revoke Florida’s red-flag gun law (35:40).

On this week's South Florida Roundup, we looked at the Trump Administration’s layoffs and cutbacks at key science agencies here – not least of which involve the researchers who revolutionized hurricane forecasting (01:10). We also talked to Tony Doris, the editorial page editor of the Palm Beach Post. who was fired after he ran an editorial cartoon that some Jewish advocates called antisemitic (18:42). And we asked why America of all countries is shutting down so much support for democratic struggles in Latin America (34:50).

On the South Florida Roundup, we dedicated the entire show to the issue that’s got this community tied in knots at the moment: immigration. Or maybe: anti-immigration. We had a candid conversation about our wrecked immigration system: Do we rely too much on stop-gap measures like TPS and parole (01:11)? Did the Trump Administration brand non-criminal migrants as “criminals” and send them to Guantánamo this month (21:23)? And were law-abiding migrants arrested in Palm Beach County this week (36:12)?

The South Florida Roundup's Tim Padgett co-hosts the 90-minute call-in special “Haiti on the Line,” a collaboration between WLRN, WNYC (New York City) and GBH News (Boston) which aired live on Feb. 24, 2025. Last year more than 5,000 people in Haiti were killed in gang-related violence. The country has been in a political crisis for years. And for Haitians in America with feet in two worlds, reality in both countries is unstable. To better understand the story, public radio stations in the three cities with the largest Haitian populations in America teamed up to open the phones and hear from Haitian listeners in these communities. The hosts were joined by special guests and experts on Haiti.

On the latest episode of South Florida Roundup, we talked about how the city of Coral Gables became an end-point for smuggled migrants between the Bahamas and South Florida in recent weeks (01:06). We also looked into red light camera tickets and how cities like Aventura are making major profits from them (16:30). And we examined the city of Miami commission’s recent vote to shift millions meant for new city parks BACK to Miami Freedom Park—the future home of the Inter Miami Soccer team (33:42).

This week on the South Florida Roundup, we talked with Miami’s Roman Catholic Archbishop Thomas Wenski, who’s had a lot to say about the Trump administration’s controversial pursuit of undocumented migrants — and its swipes at the Church (01:11). We also looked at another controversial trend: top Republican politicos taking the helm at colleges like Florida International University and Florida Atlantic University (20:09). And we examined the trial of Colombia’s former president: is it politicized justice (35:33)?

On the South Florida Roundup, we looked at President Trump’s alarming decision to revoke Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans here — who now face deportation back to a brutal dictatorship (01:06). We also looked at a Miami-Dade effort just underway that could turn traditionally Black communities into a new city (20:22). And we talked with the filmmaker behind a new WLRN-produced documentary that traces much of Haiti’s crisis to the demise of the Creole pig (35:08).

On the South Florida Roundup, we took a deep dive into this region’s deepening waste management crisis (01:02). We also looked at the University of Miami’s new mission to test Elon Musk’s brain chip to help paralyzed persons lead more normal lives (20:00). And we examined what’s next for the undocumented residents known as Dreamers now that Florida may reduce their access to college (35:20).

On the South Florida roundup, we discussed the new proposal from Miami-Dade County’s new property appraiser, Tomas Regalado, to calculate climate change risk into our home values (01:11). We also looked at the possibility of a resurgence here of the hate group Proud Boys after the presidential pardon of Jan. 6 convicts like Enrique Tarrio (19:25). And we examined President Trump’s threat to take the Panama Canal — and drive away China (35:34).

On the South Florida Roundup we discussed the constitutional questions surrounding Gov. Ron DeSantis’ demand that local authorities assist federal immigration officials. South Florida may not be on board (1:12). We also looked at a popular new program in Miami Gardens that teaches kids a vital but not always accessible skill: computer coding (19:28). And we examined the new deal that takes Cuba off the U.S.’ state sponsors of terrorism list — and dissidents out of Cuba’s prisons (35:21).