Topline
The Supreme Court rejected Wednesday a request from the Florida government to let it enforce a law banning undocumented immigrants from entering the state, meaning the law will not go back into effect as the case moves forward.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier speaks at a press conference on May 19.
The Supreme Court denied Florida’s request to pause a lower court order, which blocked the state from enforcing its law making it a misdemeanor for undocumented immigrants to enter the state.
Under the law, known as SB 4-C, anyone who “knowingly enters or attempts to enter [Florida] after entering the United States by eluding or avoiding examination or inspection by immigration officers” can be convicted of a first degree misdemeanor.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams blocked Florida officials from enforcing the law in April while litigation proceeds, and then ruled in June to hold Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in civil contempt for evading the order and continuing to enforce the law.
The law has so far resulted in multiple arrests, including the state mistakenly arresting U.S. citizens.
The Supreme Court did not provide any reasoning for rejecting Florida’s appeal in their order Wednesday, nor did they note any justices that dissented and would have granted Florida’s request.
The litigation over the Florida law is still ongoing, and it’s possible the Supreme Court could be asked to rule on it again in the future.
Florida isn’t the only state where officials are battling in court to punish undocumented immigrants, as Texas has also been defending its state law allowing local police to arrest anyone they suspect unlawfully crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. A federal appeals court blocked that law in court last week, ruling it conflicted with federal law and that federal immigration authorities have sole power to “control immigration.”
This story is breaking and will be updated.