TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Pointing to the federal government’s power to regulate immigration, a U.S. district judge Friday temporarily blocked a new Florida law aimed at cracking down on undocumented immigrants.
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Miami-based Judge Kathleen Williams issued a 14-page decision granting a request for a temporary restraining order against the law, which the Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved in February.
The law created state crimes for undocumented immigrants who enter or re-enter Florida. Williams issued the temporary restraining order two days after the Florida Immigrant Coalition, the Farmworker Association of Florida and two individual plaintiffs filed the lawsuit 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.
Williams wrote that the plaintiffs “persuasively posit that SB 4-C (the law) unlawfully encroaches” on federal power to control immigration. She also cited details of the law, such as its requirements that people convicted of illegally entering the state face nine-month prison terms and longer sentences for subsequent convictions.
“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 when federal officials choose to commence 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. Additionally, SB 4-C requires mandatory prison sentences for state law violations where the INA (the federal Immigration and Nationality Act) allows for a fine or probation for the equivalent federal crime.”
A temporary restraining order is generally limited to 14 days, and Williams scheduled an April 18 hearing on the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction, which could block the law while the case continues to play out.
The lawsuit also alleges a violation of the Constitution’s Commerce Clause because it “impermissibly regulates people’s entry into Florida, and it imposes unacceptable burdens on interstate and foreign commerce.”
While Williams based her decision on the Supremacy Clause issue, she wrote that the plaintiffs’ “Commerce Clause analysis also supports their request” for a temporary restraining order.
Lawmakers passed the measure during a February special session, saying they were trying to help carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. SB 4-C was one of two immigration bills passed during the special session.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans for Immigrant Justice, did not target the other new law. The state has not filed arguments in the case.
“The court’s order halts a dangerous and discriminatory law that sought to criminalize people for simply moving within the United States,” Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, said in a statement late Friday. “Florida’s leaders may want to score political points by targeting immigrants, but the Constitution doesn’t allow it. We’ll continue fighting until SB 4-C is struck down permanently.”