TALHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday called a federal judge “activist” and blocked enforcement of a new state law that criminalizes immigrants coming to Florida after immigrants enter the country illegally.
“Another day, another activist federal judge believes that the judicial system should set immigration policies rather than elected officials,” the Republican governor said in a video posted on X on Monday.
The governor did not elect a judge by name, but his comments stopped prosecutors and police from enforcing state law for 14 days in response to a ruling issued by US District Judge Kathleen Williams on Friday. In the ruling, Williams, appointed by former President Barack Obama, said the law is likely to be unconstitutional as it seeks to enforce issues reserved solely by the federal government.
DeSantis said he was not surprised by the verdict, but he said the nation was attractive. He said his office and state legislators were extremely “cautious” about how they created the law to ensure they faced “fair” judges. The governor said he believes the case can go all the way to the Supreme Court.
“The reality is that we have the right under the power of the state constitution and the state police, to hold people who come illegally and violate Florida,” DeSantis said.
In her ruling, the judge said Florida law “appears to suffer from the same accident” as other state laws that power state authorities to prosecute immigration cases related to immigration illegally entering the country.
In short, for nearly 150 years, the Supreme Court has written solely by Williams, a US District Court based in Miami, southern Florida, that the authority to control immigration (non-citizen admission, admission, removal) was written exclusively by Williams, a US District Court based in Miami, Southern Florida.
The ruling responded to a lawsuit filed by two immigrants who live in Florida and say they came to the country illegally. Court records show that one of them was previously deported and has four children born in the United States. Others leave Florida twice a year with a US-born child with a disability. Individuals are two advocacy groups that are members of the Florida Immigration Coalition and the Florida Agricultural Workers Association and are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit argues that if state law is enacted, individuals will be “irreparable harmed by being at risk of arrest, prosecution or detention under unconstitutional state law.” In the ruling, Williams said Florida police officers have already begun enforcing the law and arresting them.
To be charged with a new crime, the individual must be at least 18 years old, and law enforcement must prove that he “deliberately” entered or attempted to enter Florida.
If convicted, offenders will face a forced sentence behind bars for at least nine months.
DeSantis said the arrests made Monday were “appropriate” and he believes the law is constitutional. The governor also said the state will work with the federal government to help identify and deport immigrants illegally in the country.
“Don’t make a mistake about that. When it comes to enforcing federal immigration laws, we haven’t removed the pedals from the gas a bit,” DeSantis said.
The judge called for an interim injunctive hearing on April 18 to consider the next steps in the case.
