Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier reportedly directed authorities in the Sunshine State to halt immigration arrests under a new law signed into effect by Gov. Ron DeSantis in February, after a federal judge chastised local cops in court for ignoring an order she issued prohibiting such arrests.
“There is no such basis,” said U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, a Barack Obama appointee, in court on Friday, according to the Miami Herald. “Why aren’t these people being released right away?” she reportedly asked.
Robert Schenck, a lawyer who is representing the Office of the Attorney General, which is being sued over the new state law that was signed into effect by DeSantis — allowing for the arrest and prosecution of undocumented immigrants in Florida — claimed during the hearing that while state officials were blocked from issuing arrest warrants under Williams’ order, the state believed that law enforcement officers did not have to comply because they do not act “in concert”
“Your honour, that is our understanding of the order,” Schenck said.
“I’m astounded and don’t understand this argument,” Williams responded. “That’s concerning that they don’t work in concert with state officials,” she told me.
On February 13, DeSantis signed legislation that allows state law enforcement to arrest and prosecute undocumented immigrants.
On April 4, Williams issued a 14-day stay, preventing the law from being enforced in Florida, arguing that the federal government, not individual states, was responsible for apprehending and litigating migrants.
“When I issued the temporary restraining order, it never occurred to me that police officers would not be bound by it,” Williams said Friday, according to the Herald.
“It never occurred to me that the state attorneys would not give direction to law enforcement so that we would not have these unfortunate arrests,” she told reporters.
Multiple arrests have taken place in violation of Williams’ order, according to the judge and local media outlets.
According to reports, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper used the new statute to arrest a United States citizen from Georgia in north Florida last week.
Juan Carlos Lopez Gomez, 20, was taken into custody on Wednesday. The new law required undocumented adult immigrants to check in with federal border officials before entering Florida.
According to the Herald, “Mr. Lopez Gomez was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over for speeding and made a statement to a Florida State Trooper that he was not legally authorised to be in the United States,” FHP officials said.
“There was also a federal detainer issued for him,” the statement stated. “He was transported to the Leon County Jail.”
Immigration lawyers have chastised Florida law enforcement and local officials for what happened to Lopez Gomez, claiming it mirrors other recent incidents across the country, including in Maryland, where protected father Kilmar Abrego Garcia was arrested and wrongfully deported by federal agents.
The Abrego Garcia case has sparked a high-profile legal battle between civil rights organisations and the Justice Department; lawyers in the Florida case are concerned that a similar situation could arise with Lopez Gomez and others.
“There is a state-wide injunction against anybody enforcing that law,” said Paul Chavez, litigation director at Americans for Immigrant Justice and an attorney in the federal lawsuit challenging the new Florida state law, in a statement to the Herald.
“The court order is very clear,” he explained.
According to Fox News, Uthmeier reportedly sent a letter to state officials on Monday directing local law enforcement to follow Williams’ order regardless of their beliefs or perceptions. Law&Crime attempted to contact the AG’s office for comment, but were unsuccessful.
Another hearing has been scheduled for April 29 to further discuss the situation.
