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FLORIDA - The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Florida’s request to enforce a controversial immigration law that would criminalize undocumented individuals entering the state.
The decision leaves the law on hold while legal challenges continue, with the justices offering no explanation and noting no dissents.
Signed by Governor Ron DeSantis in February, the law, Senate Bill 4-C, makes it a misdemeanor for individuals without legal status to enter Florida.
It mirrors similar legislation in Texas, which is also tied up in the courts.
The law was quickly challenged by civil rights groups representing two unnamed immigrants residing in Florida without legal status.
Their lawsuit argues immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, not a state matter.
In April, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued an injunction halting the law’s enforcement, a decision upheld by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Attorney General James Uthmeier’s emergency appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected on July 9th.
In June, Judge Williams held Uthmeier in contempt for allegedly instructing officers to enforce the law despite the court’s order.
Uthmeier responded defiantly, saying he would “stand firmly behind President Trump’s agenda on illegal immigration.”
The case has drawn additional controversy with the development of a new state-run detention facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” located near the Everglades.
Environmental groups and local tribes are suing to block construction, citing ecological harm.
With the Supreme Court’s decision, Florida’s attempt to take immigration enforcement into its own hands remains stalled, highlighting the ongoing tension between state policy ambitions and federal immigration authority.