The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a request by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier that would have at least temporarily allowed enforcement of a new state law targeting undocumented immigrants who enter the state.
Uthmeier last month asked the Supreme Court for a stay of a temporary injunction that U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued in April to block the law. Such a stay, if granted, would have allowed enforcement of the law while an underlying legal battle about the injunction played out.
The Supreme Court denied the stay request.
As is common, the Supreme Court did not explain its reasons, but the decision likely means the law will remain on hold at least until the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals can rule on a state appeal of the preliminary injunction. A panel of the appeals court is slated to hear arguments in October.
The law, which passed during a February special legislative session, created state crimes for undocumented immigrants who enter or re-enter Florida. It came as Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers rushed to back President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.
But Williams ruled that the law (SB 4-C) likely was preempted by federal immigration-enforcement authority. In part, she pointed to the law requiring that violators go to jail and indicated that could conflict with federal authority.
“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.”
But in asking the Supreme Court for a stay, Uthmeier’s office disputed that the state law is preempted, saying it “purposefully tracks federal law to a tee.” Also, 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 stay 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.”
Attorneys for the Florida Immigrant Coalition, the Farmworker Association of Florida and two individual plaintiffs challenged the law April 2 in federal court in South Florida, alleging, in part, that it 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, prompting the state to appeal.
In a brief filed at the Supreme Court opposing the state’s stay request, attorneys for the plaintiffs focused heavily on the preemption issue. 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.
A panel of the Atlanta-based appeals court last month also rejected a request by Uthmeier for a stay.
The battle over the law has been highly contentious, with Williams taking the unusual step of finding Uthmeier in civil contempt.
That finding stemmed from a letter that Uthmeier sent in April to police after the judge ordered a halt to enforcement of the law. Williams said Uthmeier violated a directive to notify police agencies that what was then a temporary restraining order barred them from enforcing the law. Uthmeier has contended Williams’ rulings should only apply to him and local state attorneys, the named defendants in the case, and not to law-enforcement officers.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration this week filed a brief arguing that the appeals court should overturn the preliminary injunction.
–Jim Saunders, News Service of Florida
