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The Attorney General of Florida ordered immigration officials this Friday to cease enforcement of the SB-4C law, which aims to impose severe measures against undocumented immigrants who enter or return to Florida.
According to the Miami Herald, the Attorney General of Florida, James Uthmeier, instructed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Sheriffs of Florida, and the Police Chiefs of Florida to "comply" with the "directives" of District Judge Kathleen Williams, who limited the SB 4-C law in early April.
The decision comes after a hearing held on Friday in a federal court in Miami revealed that Florida law enforcement has made up to 15 arrests in the past two weeks, violating the order issued on April 4 by Kathleen Williams.
"When I issued the temporary restraining order, I never thought that the police officers would not be bound by it," Williams said this Friday, according to the Herald. "I never thought that the state prosecutors would not instruct law enforcement to prevent these unfortunate arrests."
Williams notified the lawyers at the Uthmeier office that both state officials and law enforcement agents were required to suspend arrests due to the new state law that defines as a misdemeanor the entry into Florida of undocumented immigrants who entered the United States without inspection.
Uthmeier, however, explained that he disagreed with the "scope" of the order. "I must express my disagreement with this order", he wrote in an email obtained by the Herald. "For the reasons my office has argued and will continue to present in court, this clarification of Williams' previous order is both flawed in substance and excessively broad in its scope."
The SB-4C legislation creates state crimes for undocumented immigrants who enter or re-enter Florida and establishes that "any unauthorized foreign national who is 18 years of age or older and knowingly enters or attempts to enter this state after having entered the United States by evading or avoiding examination or inspection by immigration officers commits a first-degree misdemeanor. A person convicted of a violation of this subsection must be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 9 months.”
In a second clause, the law mandates imprisonment for one year and one day for anyone with a previous conviction for a violation of the previous section who reoffends.
Williams' decision came days after the Florida Immigrant Coalition, the Florida Farmworkers Association, and individual plaintiffs filed a lawsuit claiming that the law violates what is known as the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution because the enforcement of immigration policies is a federal responsibility.
In Williams' opinion, the mandatory detention provision under the law limits the discretion of federal law enforcement agencies to recommend pretrial release and obstructs the ability of federal courts to conduct proceedings that require the presence of defendants, as they are incarcerated under SB 4-C.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Suspension of Migrant Arrests in Florida
Why has the arrest of migrants in Florida been ordered to be paused?
The pause in the arrest of migrants is due to a court order that temporarily blocks law SB 4-C, which criminalizes the entry or re-entry of undocumented immigrants in Florida. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued a temporary restraining order because the law may violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which reserves the enforcement of immigration policies to the federal government.
What does the SB 4-C law establish regarding undocumented immigrants in Florida?
The SB 4-C law classifies as a misdemeanor the entry of undocumented immigrants into Florida who have evaded inspection upon entering the U.S. The law establishes jail sentences of up to 9 months for a first offense and up to one year and a day for repeat offenders. This legislation has been temporarily blocked due to questions regarding its constitutionality.
What is the main argument for blocking the SB 4-C law?
The main argument for blocking the SB 4-C law is that it infringes on federal authority to control immigration. The Florida Immigrant Coalition and other plaintiffs claim that the law violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, as the enforcement of immigration policies is a federal responsibility, not a state one.
What role does the Florida Attorney General play in this situation?
The Attorney General of Florida, James Uthmeier, has ordered law enforcement to comply with the judge's directive to suspend arrests, although he has expressed his disagreement with the court order, stating that it is fundamentally incorrect and excessively broad in its scope. Uthmeier will continue to defend the law in the courts.
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