Immigrant advocates sue Florida over new immigration crackdown law
Immigrant advocates are suing Florida legal officials, questioning the constitutionality of a part of the state's new laws to crack down on illegal immigration.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida, ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project and Americans for Immigrant Justice filed a lawsuit this week in federal court to block the Florida law (SB 4C) that passed during one of several special sessions held this spring.
They name as defendants Attorney General James Uthmeier, Statewide Prosecutor Nicholas B. Cox and the state attorneys, or top prosecutors, in each of Florida's 20 judicial circuits. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Miami on April 2.
'Florida's SB 4C is not just unconstitutional – it's cruel and dangerous,' said Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, in a press release. Requests for comment are pending with Uthmeier's office and Tallahassee-area State Attorney Jack Campbell, president of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association.
'This law strips power from the federal government and hands it to state officers with no immigration training or authority, threatening to tear families apart and detain people who have every legal right to be here. Our communities deserve safety, dignity, and due process – not politically motivated attacks,' Jackson added.
The law enacted penalties for people who first enter the country illegally 'by eluding or avoiding examination or inspection by immigration officers' and then also enter the state of Florida.
Under the law, for a first offense a person will be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor and, if convicted, has to be sentenced to a mandatory minimum of 9 months, according to a bill analysis.
A second violation is a third degree felony and requires a mandatory minimum of a year and a day, and a third or subsequent violation is also a third degree felony and requires a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of two years.
As previously reported, members of the state's own immigration enforcement advisory council have questioned the law.
At a meeting in Largo on Monday, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the law isn't workable, as it leaves ambiguity as to whether someone has to be charged while entering the state or if being in the state is the crime, and the law requires proof that the person illegally crossed the border.
"I don't think you could charge this unless you actually see them enter Florida," he said on Monday.
More: Florida officials seek Trump's help in speeding up the deporting of more immigrants
The plaintiffs are the Farmworker Association of Florida, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, and Florida residents identified by their initials as Y.M. and V.V.
Y.M., 40, is from Honduras and currently lives in Gainesville with her disabled minor son, according to the lawsuit. She came to the United States more than 20 years ago and has an application for a U visa pending since 2022. (A U visa is 'for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity,' according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Services.)
V.V. is "a 35-year-old national of Guatemala who lives in Immokalee (and) lives with her husband and her U.S.-citizen children, who are 1, 3, 7, and 14 years old. V.V. was previously deported, and she last reentered the United States without inspection in 2014. She fears being arrested under SB 4C's Illegal Reentry provision and is deeply concerned about being separated from her husband and U.S.-citizen children," according to the complaint.
Both Y.M. and V.V. are members of the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Legal battle begins over Florida law targeting undocumented immigrants
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