Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier had asked the nation’s highest court to remove a temporary block on enforcement of the law, which police and state troopers carried out even after the judge barred it. But the Supreme Court on Wednesday decided not to interfere.
At issue is SB 4C, a law Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in February, which makes it a first-degree misdemeanor for a person to enter the state as an “unauthorized alien.” Despite the intent to tackle illegal immigration, the law led to the arrest of a U.S. citizen from Georgia.
Florida lawmakers passed the law during a special session, and DeSantis signed it on Feb. 13 to align the state with President Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigration. The Florida Immigrant Coalition, the Farmworker Association of Florida and two women lacking permanent legal status brought suit against the state in April.
The Supreme Court’s decision came two days after the U.S. Department of Justice asked an appellate court to lift the block on the law, filing a brief stating that U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, in the Southern District of Florida, erred in her decision.
“Florida’s law is in harmony, not conflict, with federal law,” the brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit states.
Both Williams and the Eleventh Circuit ruled that federal law likely preempts the state law, as the reasoning for the temporary block.
“This ruling affirms what the Constitution demands — that immigration enforcement is a federal matter and that no one should be stripped of their liberty without due process,” said Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida.
“Florida’s attempt to bypass federal authority and weaponize local law enforcement to police immigration status was not only unlawful, but it also put thousands of people at risk of unjust detention, separation, and abuse. We are grateful the Court upheld the block, and we remain committed to defending the rights and humanity of all Floridians.”
Uthmeier’s press secretary wrote to the Florida Phoenix that the attorney general will continue the appeal of the block during the remainder of the litigation.
“Thanks to President Trump, we can still carry out the intent of Florida’s immigration law through our nation-leading number of 287(g) agreements with ICE, but Florida’s sovereignty cannot be left up to the whims of the next presidential administration,” Jae Williams wrote. “The law passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor DeSantis is important to Florida’s future, and we believe it will prevail on the merits.”
The attorney general must submit biweekly reports detailing arrests under the law as part of Williams’ ruling finding Uthmeier in civil contempt of court over his disobedience of her order to call off enforcement.
The first biweekly report, from July 1, shows that St. Johns County arrested two men on counts of illegal entry on May 29.
This article was originally published by the Florida Phoenix. Read the original here.
