U.S. Supreme Court should reject Uthmeier's request to enforce Florida immigration law, plaintiffs say
The U.S. Supreme Court should reject a request by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to at least temporarily allow enforcement of a new law targeting undocumented immigrants who enter the state, attorneys for plaintiffs challenging the law argued Wednesday.
Attorneys for the Florida Immigrant Coalition, the Farmworker Association of Florida and two individual plaintiffs filed a 41-page brief that said the Supreme Court should keep in place a preliminary injunction that has blocked the law.
Uthmeier on June 17 asked the Supreme Court for a stay of the preliminary injunction issued in April by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams — a request that, if granted, would allow the law to be enforced while a potentially lengthy court battle plays out. A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on June 6 rejected such a stay.
The brief argues that other courts reached similar conclusions related to the entry of undocumented immigrants
Williams ruled that the law (SB 4-C) was likely preempted by federal immigration authority. In Wednesday's brief at the Supreme Court, attorneys for the plaintiffs focused heavily on the preemption issue and said other courts across the country have reached similar conclusions on issues related to entry of undocumented immigrants.
The brief, partially quoting a 2024 ruling in a Texas case, said "Congress has 'established a comprehensive framework to identify who may enter, how they may enter, where they may enter, and what penalties apply for those who enter unlawfully.'"
"And SB 4-C conflicts with the intricate federal scheme at every turn: Congress has provided a range of tools and broad discretion to federal officials in order to balance a range of national interests, yet SB 4-C seeks to wrest control of one of those tools — criminal regulation of entry — from federal control and discretion, to be applied however Florida (and, presumably, any other state) sees fit," the brief said.
But in asking the Supreme Court for a stay, lawyers in Uthmeier's office said Florida has been "enjoined from enforcing its statute to the detriment of Florida's citizens and the state's sovereign prerogative to protect them from harm."
"Illegal immigration continues to wreak havoc in the state while that law cannot be enforced," the request said. "And without this (Supreme) Court's intervention, Florida and its citizens will remain disabled from combatting the serious harms of illegal immigration for years as this litigation proceeds through the lower courts."
Florida's law was aimed at helping Trump's immigration policies
The law, passed during a February special legislative session and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, created state crimes for undocumented immigrants who enter or re-enter Florida. Supporters said it was aimed at helping carry out President Donald Trump's policies on preventing illegal immigration.
The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit on April 2 in federal court in South Florida, alleging, in part, that the law violates what is known as the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution because immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility. The lawsuit names as defendants Uthmeier and local state attorneys across Florida.
Williams on April 4 issued a temporary restraining order to block enforcement of the law and extended the restraining order on April 18. Ultimately, she issued a longer-lasting preliminary injunction on April 29, saying the law was likely unconstitutional.
Among other things, Williams pointed to the law requiring that violators go to jail.
"First, it gives state officials authority to prosecute illegal entry or reentry in cases where federal actors may choose not to," the judge wrote. "Even if federal and state officials choose to commence parallel dual prosecutions under both laws, SB 4-C's mandatory detention provision limits federal law enforcement discretion to recommend pre-trial release and obstructs federal courts' ability to conduct proceedings requiring defendants' presence. Relatedly, state officials are free to prosecute a charge under SB 4-C even while a federal immigration proceeding is underway, which may determine that the defendant may remain lawfully present under federal law."
Uthmeier appealed the preliminary injunction to the Atlanta-based appeals court and unsuccessfully sought a stay while the appeal is pending. A panel of the appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments in the underlying challenge to the preliminary injunction in October.
The case has been contentious, including a dispute between Uthmeier and Williams about whether the injunction should apply to law-enforcement officers across the state — a dispute that resulted in the judge finding Uthmeier in civil contempt.
Uthmeier argued the injunction should only apply to him and local state attorneys, the named defendants in the lawsuit. But Williams also applied it to police agencies across Florida, effectively ensuring the law is not enforced.
While Uthmeier wants the Supreme Court to issue a stay of the entire injunction, his office's request also raised the possibility of the court issuing a partial stay so that the injunction would not apply to law-enforcement officers.
But in the brief Wednesday, the plaintiffs' attorneys wrote that allowing police to make arrests while prosecutions would be enjoined isn't "logical."
"(The) undisputed scope of the injunction bars anyone, anywhere, from prosecuting SB 4-C's entry and reentry crimes," the brief said. "Defendants contend that police agencies should nevertheless be allowed to arrest for crimes that cannot be charged — but that makes no sense and would violate the (U.S. Constitution's) Fourth Amendment."