Judge temporarily blocks new Florida immigration law

Ana Ceballos, Miami Herald on Apr 5, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked police and prosecutors from enforcing a new state law that makes it a crime for immigrants to come into Florida after they enter the country illegally.

Calling the law likely unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams suspended enforcement of it for 14 days and scheduled a hearing for April 18.

The ruling is a setback for Gov. Ron DeSantis and law-enforcement officials who were already making arrests and prosecuting cases under the law, which was enacted in February following a contentious special session meant to enact policies that would help President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement plans.

In the ruling, Williams said the law likely violates the U.S. Constitution because it seeks to enforce an issue that is exclusively reserved for the federal government.

“In short, for nearly 150 years, the Supreme Court has held that the power to control immigration — the entry, admission, and removal of noncitizens — is exclusively a federal power,” Williams, of the Miami-based U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, wrote.

Williams ruled in a lawsuit filed by two immigrants who live in Florida and say they came into the country illegally. One of them was previously deported and has four children who were born in the United States, according to court records. The other travels out of Florida twice a year with her U.S.-born child who has a disability. The individuals are members of the Florida Immigrant Coalition and the Farmworker Association of Florida, two advocacy groups that are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

The suit argues that if the state law is enforced the individuals will “suffer irreparable harm by being placed at risk of arrest, prosecution, and detention under an unconstitutional state statute.” In the ruling, Williams noted Florida police officers have already started enforcing the law and making arrests.

To be charged with the new crime, an individual would need to be at least 18 years of age and law enforcement would need to prove that the person “knowingly” entered or attempted to enter Florida “after entering the United States by eluding or avoiding examination or inspection by immigration officers.”

If convicted, a violator would face a mandatory sentence of nine months behind bars.

In the ruling, the judge said the state law’s mandatory-detention provision “limits federal law enforcement discretion to recommend pre-trial release and obstructs federal courts’ ability to conduct proceedings requiring defendants’ presence.”

“This ruling is a critical victory not only for immigrants and their families across Florida, but all of us who hold dear core principles of our Constitution,” said Bacardi Jackson, the executive director of the ACLU of Florida.