Left: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducting a raid (Fox News/YouTube). Right: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (Office of Attorney General).
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier applauded the arrests of two immigrants who were taken into custody after a federal judge blocked such busts from happening — saying he supports efforts to “tackle the illegal immigration crisis” — before dismissing their charges, according to documents filed in court earlier this month.
“Florida law-enforcement officers continue to make numerous immigration-related arrests and detentions pursuant to their delegated authorizations under Section 287(g) agreements with the federal government,” Uthmeier wrote in a July 1 status report, which came as the AG began providing updates to U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams as punishment for ignoring an injunction she issued in April and being found in contempt for it.
The arrests Uthmeier highlighted happened in late May.
The Section 287(g) agreements he mentioned are a reference to a section of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) that says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is authorized to “delegate” to state and local law enforcement officers the “authority to perform specified immigration officer functions under the agency”s direction and oversight,” per the ICE website.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox
In his report, Uthmeier said the agreements grant state and local law enforcement agencies the “power and authority to arrest,” to “maintain custody,” to “interrogate,” and “prepare charging documents” for undocumented immigrants based on “violations of federal immigration law,” according to the July 1 filing, which cited the IIRIRA. “The Attorney General supports those efforts to tackle the illegal immigration crisis and expects all state and local jurisdictions — as state law requires — to ‘use best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law.'”
Uthmeier, a Republican, has openly said he doesn’t believe Williams’ injunction was “legitimate,” which landed him in hot water with the Barack Obama appointee earlier this year after Uthmeier claimed he did not have the power to enforce her order.
Williams sided with the plaintiffs in the immigration law case — the Florida Immigrant Coalition and the Farmworker Association of Florida — on April 4 and granted the temporary restraining order and injunction they requested, blocking enforcement of SB 4-C, which makes it a misdemeanor to be in the U.S. illegally. Williams said she was persuaded by the argument that SB 4-C amounted to an unconstitutional state assertion of immigration enforcement powers that ultimately belong to the federal government.
The immigrants who were arrested in late May, Alejandro Perez and Juan Miguel Aguilar, were taken into custody by deputies in St. Johns County. Uthmeier said in his report that he became aware of the two cases at the end of June after his office began asking for information from state and local law enforcement to update Williams as part of his contempt requirements. Uthmeier has been tasked with filing bimonthly reports about whether arrests are happening.
“Mr. Perez was arrested on May 29, 2025, by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office on one count of illegal entry.” Uthmeier wrote in his July 1 report. “He had an active immigration detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and was released on recognizance by the trial court on June 10.”
For Aguilar, Uthmeier said he was also arrested on May 29 and charged with one count of illegal entry and one count of driving without a valid driver’s license. He wound up confessing in court, according to the AG’s office.
“At the first appearance, Mr. Aguilar pleaded guilty to the charges,” Uthmeier said. “The trial court sentenced Mr. Aguilar to 3 days’ imprisonment in county jail for each charge, to run concurrently. No information was filed by the state attorney’s office against Mr. Aguilar.”
More from Law&Crime: ‘Remarkable power grab’: State AG scolds judge in SCOTUS reply over her order blocking immigration arrests, says she and advocates ‘underplay the reality on the ground’
R.J. Larizza, state attorney for Florida’s 7th Judicial Circuit, filed a notice with the court on July 3 saying “corrective action” had been taken in both cases “in concurrence with the suggestion from Attorney General James Uthmeier.”
“In one case, involving a pending criminal charge for illegal entry against Mr. Alejandro Perez, our office has filed an intention of no information, thus dismissing the case,” Larizza said. “In the other case, involving a conviction for driving without a license and for illegal entry against Mr. Juan Miguel Aguilar, our office has filed a motion to vacate the charge for illegal entry that the trial court granted.”
The AG’s office did not respond to Law&Crime’s request for comment Thursday.
On Wednesday, Uthmeier filed a federal notice of appeal in the Southern District of Florida that said he would be taking Williams’ contempt order up with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals again after an earlier bid failed and got shot down by the U.S. Supreme Court. The move came as Uthmeier was also busy this week filing a lawsuit against a Volusia County homeowner who sued his neighbors over their pro-Trump signs in their yard.
“Using lawfare to retaliate against political speech is wrong and unlawful,” Uthmeier wrote in a statement Wednesday. “These homeowners should be free to support President Trump without fear, and we will protect their right to do so.”
Matt Naham contributed to this report.
