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Court Order
Document Date:
June 6, 2025
Affiliate:
勛圖眻畦 of Florida
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Press ReleaseJun 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Federal Appellate Court Denies Floridas Request to Enforce Unconstitutional Anti-Immigrant Law SB 4-C
MIAMI, FL Today, an appellate federal court refused to stay the trial courts order blocking Florida Senate Bill 4-C (SB 4-C), an anti-immigrant law that criminalizes the movement of undocumented individuals into the state. Police made a number of arrests under the law, including arresting a U.S. citizen. Todays decision extends a long and unbroken string of defeats that the courts have dealt to SB 4-C and similar laws in Texas, Oklahoma, Idaho, and Iowa. This now includes appellate decisions from the Fifth, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuits. The original challenge was brought on behalf of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, the Farmworker Association of Florida, and several impacted individuals on behalf of a class of all people subject to the law. The federal district court issued a preliminary injunction against the law in April. In response, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court to put the order on hold. The unanimous three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit has now refused, and the law will remain barred while the case continues. The court explained that [i]t seems likelygiven the federal governments longstanding and distinct interest in immigration and Congresss extensive regulation in this area, that the Florida statute is preempted by federal law. The court also cited Attorney General Uthmeiers troubling letter that had encouraged law enforcement officers to violate the district courts injunction, which was recently the subject of a hearing in district court to consider possible contempt-of-court findings and sanctions. The court refused to block the application of the injunction to police, and criticized Uthmeiers seemingly defiant posture vis--vis the district court and what seems to have been at least a veiled threat not to obey the courts order. The Eleventh Circuit now joins every single court to have looked at these laws in blocking them, said Cody Wofsy, Deputy at the 勛圖眻畦 Immigrants Rights Project. It is time for States to get the message: State immigration laws are unconstitutional. This ruling is not just a legal victory its a resounding rejection of cruelty masquerading as policy, said Bacardi Jackson, Executive Director of the 勛圖眻畦 of Florida. Florida lawmakers tried to use fear as law and racial profiling as governance. SB 4-C was a flagrant abuse of power designed to punish immigrants and divide our communities. But the Constitution does not bend to political theater. This decision is a reminder that no matter how many times they try to turn back the clock on justice, we will meet them in court and in the streets every single time. Our message is simple: immigrants belong, and we will never stop fighting for their freedom and dignity. SB 4-C made it a felony for certain immigrants to enter Florida and mandated pretrial detention without bond. The law created new state crimes that plaintiffs argued were preempted by federal immigration law and infringed on the constitutional right to move freely across state lines. While this ruling is not the end of the fight against this illegal state law, it will prevent state authorities from targeting neighbors across Florida with cruel punishments they would not face under federal law in the meantime. The court's injunction protects our clients and countless others across Florida from arrest and detention under this cruel and unlawful law, said Paul R. Chavez, Director of Litigation & Advocacy at Americans for Immigrant Justice. SB 4-C punished people simply for existing. Today, the Constitution prevailed.Court Case: FLORIDA IMMIGRANT COALITION v. UTHMEIERAffiliate: Florida -
FloridaApr 2025
Immigrants' Rights
FLORIDA IMMIGRANT COALITION v. UTHMEIER
The 勛圖眻畦 of Florida, 勛圖眻畦 Immigrants Rights Project, and Americans for Immigrant Justice filed a federal lawsuit challenging Floridas new extreme anti-immigrant law, Senate Bill 4C (SB 4C), which authorizes state and local law enforcement to imprison people based on their manner of entering the country powers the Constitution reserves exclusively to the federal government. The lawsuit is brought on behalf of the Farmworker Association of Florida (FWAF), the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), and individual plaintiffs including longtime Florida residents with pending federal immigration applications and with U.S. citizen family members who rely on their care.Status: Ongoing