TALHASSEE — On Friday, a federal court of appeals withheld new Florida law targeting undocumented immigrants entering the state, denying the argument that at least temporarily permitted enforcement by Attorney General James Usmier.
In April, US District Judge Kathleen Williams issued a preliminary injunction to block the law. Uthmeier appealed the injunction to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking Williams’s stay in the ruling.
Such a stay could have led to the law being enacted while the legal struggle was taking place.
However, on Friday, a three-judicial panel of judges in the Atlanta-based court refused a request for stay. The panel said the decision “doesn’t clearly resolve whether federal immigration laws will essentially take priority.
“Given the years of clear interest in the exclusion and admission of foreigners in the federal government, and the widespread restrictions on the (federal) Immigration Nationality Act on foreign admissions, this principle appears to be met in terms of the area of aliens registration and existence in the United States,” the decision shared by judges Jill Pryor, Kevin Newsom and Embry Kidd. “The Attorney General therefore has not “strongly suggested” that it was wrong for the District Court to conclude that SB 4-C would likely be preempted on the ground. ”
The decision also delved into the controversial question of whether only Williams’ provisional injunction should apply to Usmeyer and state lawyers, or whether it should apply more widely to law enforcement officers across the state. Williams ordered it to be applied widely, but Usmeyer argued that it should only be applied to him, the accused in the case, and to the state’s attorneys.
The issue has become so controversial that Williams held a hearing last week on whether she should find Usmeyer in cont. The Court of Appeals Friday applied Williams’ ruling to Usmierer and state lawyers only, denying the issuance of partial stays that could allow police to enforce the law.
The panel also said, “Quoting his seemingly rebellious stance towards the district court, it seemed to have problems with Usmeyer’s actions. Again, he may be right that the district court order is unacceptable.
The law passed at a special legislative meeting in February created state crimes for undocumented immigrants who enter or re-enter Florida. Republican-controlled Congress said the law was intended to support President Donald Trump’s policies on preventing illegal immigration.
However, lawyers for the Florida Immigration Coalition, the Florida Agricultural Workers Association, and two individual plaintiffs filed the assignment in federal court in South Florida, claiming that state law was unconstitutional.
In issuing the preliminary injunction, Williams pointed to issues such as the Act (SB 4-C) that required offenders to go to prison. She showed that it could be inconsistent with federal immigration authorities.
“Firstly, it empowers state officials to prosecute illegal entry or re-entry if federal officials do not choose,” the judge wrote. “Even if federal and state officials choose to commence parallel double prosecutions under both laws, the forced detention clause of SB 4-C limits federal law enforcement discretion, encourages pretrial release, and interferes with the ability to interfere with proceedings that require the existence of federal courts. Act.”
In a motion to stay in the Court of Appeal in May 7, lawyers at Uthmeier’s office disputed that the law was inappropriately violated by the Federal Immigration Bureau.
“To help the United States curb illegal immigration within state borders, SB 4-C criminalizes people who have illegally entered the United States into Florida,” the motion said. “The law tracks federal laws to the tees, and also retains the defense of federal laws, and says nothing about who should be recognized or taken from the country.”
Jim Sanders, Florida news service
