Latest news with #FarmworkerAssociationofFlorida
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Immigration foes claim Attorney General Uthmeier is in contempt of court
Opponents of a new law that targets undocumented immigrants who enter Florida argued Thursday that state Attorney General James Uthmeier should be held in contempt of court because of a letter he sent to police after a judge blocked the law. Lawyers for the opponents, who are challenging the law in federal court, argued in a 26-page filing that Uthmeier's conduct surrounding an April 23 letter was 'quintessential contempt of court.' They accused Uthmeier of signaling to police officers that they could make arrests under the law after U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams had issued a temporary restraining order to block enforcement. 'It is simply not acceptable that, notwithstanding this court's order and his ethical duties, the attorney general encouraged arrests that he fully understood were specifically prohibited,' the lawyers for the Florida Immigrant Coalition, the Farmworker Association of Florida and two individual plaintiffs wrote. The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit April 2 in Miami challenging the constitutionality of the law, which the Legislature passed during a February special session. The law created state crimes for undocumented immigrants who enter or re-enter Florida. Williams on April 4 issued a temporary restraining order to block enforcement of the law and extended the restraining order on April 18. Ultimately, she issued a longer-lasting preliminary injunction on April 29, saying the law was likely unconstitutional. In the April 29 ruling, Williams also ordered Uthmeier to 'show cause' why he should not be held in contempt or sanctioned because of an April 23 letter he sent. She cited arrests that continued after the temporary restraining order and quoted from Uthmeier's letter, which she said included an effort to 'counsel law enforcement' that they were not restrained from enforcing the law. Uthmeier's lawyers, in a May 12 response, said he complied with the temporary restraining order by not enforcing the law (SB 4-C) and notifying law-enforcement agencies about the temporary restraining order. It said Uthmeier was free to express his disagreement with Williams' decision in the letter. 'The attorney general has consistently abided by the court's order to cease enforcing (the law),' Uthmeier's lawyers wrote. 'Nowhere does the TRO (expressly or impliedly) require the attorney general to refrain from sharing his views about the order with law enforcement.' But in the filing Thursday, lawyers for the plaintiffs said Uthmeier went beyond expressing his views about the temporary restraining order. They said the April 23 letter came after an April 18 notice that Uthmeier sent to police indicating the temporary restraining order prevented them from enforcing the law. Williams had ordered the April 18 notice. 'Considered objectively and in the context of the earlier (April 18) letter, the attorney general's second letter plainly undermined the notice he was directed to provide, and invited arrests which he knew would be violations of this court's order,' the plaintiffs' lawyers argued. 'That is quintessential contempt of court.' In ordering Uthmeier to show cause about why he should not be held in contempt, Williams wrote that Uthmeier sent the April 18 letter notifying law-enforcement agencies to refrain from enforcing the law but then sent the April 23 letter 'reversing his prior directive.' 'It said, 'I cannot prevent you from enforcing (the law), where there remains no judicial order that properly restrains you from doing so,'' Williams wrote. 'Aside from the clear misstatement that there is 'no judicial order' that restrains law enforcement from arresting individuals pursuant to S.B. 4-C, AG Uthmeier's assessment that the order does not 'properly' restrain them demonstrates his active effort to counsel law enforcement.' But in the May 12 response to the show cause order, Uthmeier's lawyers said Williams' reading of the April 23 letter 'relies on one portion of one sentence, rather than reading (the) letter as a whole and in the context of what preceded it: the April 18 letter' and a legal brief that also was filed April 23. 'In the April 23 letter, the attorney general expressly reiterated the court's conclusion that the TRO 'bound' the letter's recipients,' Uthmeier's lawyers wrote. 'He explained — as he had in the April 18 letter — that he believed the court's conclusion as to permissible scope of the TRO was 'wrong,' and he noted that the April 18 letter had promised his 'office would be arguing as much in short order.'' The plaintiffs have alleged the law violates what is known as the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution because immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility. In issuing the April 29 preliminary injunction, Williams said the law likely was preempted by federal immigration authority. Uthmeier's office has appealed the preliminary injunction to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition to disputing that the law is preempted by federal immigration authority, Uthmeier has contended that law-enforcement officers are not defendants in the lawsuit — which was filed against Uthmeier and local state attorneys — and, as result, should not be bound by orders about enforcement. Williams has scheduled a hearing next Thursday on the contempt issue. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
CBS News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Federal appeals court urged to keep block on Florida law targeting undocumented immigrants
A new state law targeting undocumented immigrants who enter Florida should remain blocked as a legal battle plays out, attorneys challenging the law argued in a filing Friday at a federal appeals court. The attorneys, representing the Florida Immigrant Coalition, the Farmworker Association of Florida and two individual plaintiffs, pushed back against a request by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier for a stay of a preliminary injunction that U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued to block the law. The issue of immigration enforcement authority Williams ruled last month that the law likely was preempted by federal immigration authority. Among other things, she pointed to the law (SB 4-C) requiring that violators go to jail. Uthmeier's office quickly appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and asked for a stay of the preliminary injunction. If such a stay is granted, the law could be enforced while the court case continues. But in the filing Friday, attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote that Williams joined other courts across the country that have considered similar laws "in holding that this effort at state immigration lawmaking is preempted by the exhaustive federal regulation of the entry of noncitizens." The filing cited a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision in an Arizona case that said the federal government "has broad, undoubted power" over immigration-related issues. "Exercising that power, Congress has enacted a pervasive system in the Immigration and Nationality Act to regulate entry into and continued presence in the United States," the filing said. "This system includes federal offenses for unlawful entry and reentry into the country, which are prosecuted in federal court at the discretion of federal prosecutors, subject to rules and exceptions specified by Congress. This system also includes processes by which noncitizens may be detained pending a decision on whether they are to be removed, including full removal proceedings with trial-like processes subject to administrative and judicial appeals and numerous protections that are available despite unlawful entry." State disputes appeals court injunction The law, passed during a February special legislative session, created state crimes for undocumented immigrants who enter or re-enter Florida. The Republican-controlled Legislature said the law was aimed at helping carry out President Donald Trump's policies on preventing illegal immigration. In a May 7 motion asking the Atlanta-based appeals court for a stay of Williams' ruling, Uthmeier's office disputed that the law improperly infringed on federal immigration authority. "To aid the United States in curbing illegal immigration within the state's borders, SB 4-C criminalizes the entry into Florida of those who have illegally entered the United States," the motion said. "That law tracks federal law to a tee. It also retains federal law defenses and says nothing of who should be admitted or removed from the country." Uthmeier's office also separately asked Williams for a stay of her injunction amid the appeal. As of early Monday afternoon, Williams had not ruled on that request. In also seeking a stay from the appeals court, Uthmeier's office argued that Williams' delay in ruling effectively was a failure to provide a stay. The plaintiffs in the case are represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Immigrant Justice and Community Justice Project. The lawsuit, filed April 2 in Miami, alleges, in part, that the law violates what is known as the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution because immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility. The lawsuit names as defendants Uthmeier and local state attorneys. In the filing Friday, the plaintiffs' attorneys argued that Florida "cannot claim any harm from being unable to enforce a preempted law." "For over a century, the Supreme Court has made clear that states are barred from enforcing a law like SB 4-C," the filing said. "Courts across the country (have) done the same. Thus, Florida's argument that it has suffered irreparable injury from having its preempted law enjoined, is unavailing."
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State Appeals Farmworker Ruling
Attorney General James Uthmeier's office this week filed a notice that is a first step in appealing a preliminary injunction that prohibits enforcement of part of a 2023 law aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration. The Farmworker Association of Florida and individual plaintiffs challenged part of the law that threatens felony charges for people who transport into Florida immigrants who 'entered the United States in violation of law' and have 'not been inspected by the federal government since his or her unlawful entry.' U.S. District Judge Roy Altman last year granted a preliminary injunction blocking the part of the law from being enforced statewide. The judge later narrowed his original order and specified that the preliminary injunction only applied to the farmworker association; the association's members as the date of the order; and the individual plaintiffs, who are Andrea Mendoza Hinojosa, Carmenza Aragon and Maria Medrano Rios. The association has about 12,000 members statewide, according to court documents. Attorneys for Uthmeieir's office on Wednesday filed a notice of appeal at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. As is typical in such instances, the notice did not include details about the appeal. Uthmeier's office this week also turned to the Atlanta-based appeals court in a separate fight about a new law targeting undocumented immigrants who enter Florida. The state is seeking a stay of a preliminary injunction issued last week that blocked enforcement of the law. If granted, a stay would allow enforcement while an underlying appeal of the injunction plays out. That law, passed during a February special legislative session, created state crimes for undocumented immigrants who enter or re-enter Florida. In issuing the preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams said the law likely was preempted by federal immigration authority. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Epoch Times
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Florida AG Asks Federal Judge to Allow Enforcement of State Immigration Law
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a motion on April 30 asking federal courts to allow the state to enforce a new law that makes it a misdemeanor for illegal immigrants to enter Florida by skirting immigration officials. In his to stay, Uthmeier asked U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami to pause her injunction blocking Florida from enforcing the law while he appeals to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. 'That law does nothing more than exercise Florida's inherent sovereign authority to protect its citizens by aiding the enforcement of federal immigration law,' the attorney general wrote in his court filing. In her Tuesday The judge said her ruling applies to all Florida local law enforcement agencies, as well as any 'officers, agents, employees, attorneys, and any persons who are in active concert or participation' with state law enforcement. Uthmeier had sent a letter on April 23 to Florida law enforcement agencies advising them that 'no lawful, legitimate order currently impedes [their] agencies from continuing to enforce' the law. Related Stories 4/27/2025 2/15/2025 Williams set a deadline and hearing in May for the state attorney general to show why he should not be held in contempt for sending the letter. 'Defendants must be prepared to discuss why sanctions should not be imposed for AG Uthmeier's failure to comply with a court order,' the judge wrote. The Subsequent convictions become third-degree felonies, with a minimum mandatory imprisonment of one year and one day, and two years following two or more additional convictions. The Florida Immigrant Coalition, the Farmworker Association of Florida, and two individual plaintiffs 'State police will arrest noncitizens for these entry and re-entry crimes; state prosecutors will bring charges in state courts; and state judges will determine guilt and impose sentences. The federal government has no control over, nor any role at all in, these arrests and prosecutions,' the plaintiffs wrote. On April 4, the judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order, just days after the plaintiffs filed the suit. After learning the Florida Highway Patrol had arrested more than a dozen people in conjunction with the law, including a U.S. citizen, she extended her order for an additional 11 days. Uthmeier first sent an April 18 memo to state and local law enforcement officers telling them to pause enforcing the law despite his disagreements with the judge's injunction. Five days later, he sent another letter to officials telling them the judge was legally wrong and that he couldn't stop them from enforcing the law, which triggered the May hearing from Williams. In his Wednesday filing, Uthmeier argued that his office was likely to succeed in defending the law because it is consistent with federal statutes and because he believes the plaintiffs lack legal standing. The plaintiffs argued in their lawsuit that Florida's law violates the Constitution's Supremacy Clause by overstepping federal authority for immigration enforcement.
CBS News
17-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
State pushes back in Florida immigration law fight after judge temporarily halts measure
Florida argued this week it should be able to move forward with a new law aimed at cracking down on undocumented immigrants who come to the state, after a federal judge temporarily halted the measure . Attorney General James Uthmeier's office, in a 22-page court document filed Tuesday, disputed that the law improperly encroaches on the federal government's authority to enforce immigration laws. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams on April 4 issued a temporary restraining order against the law ( SB 4-C ). While the temporary restraining order put the law on hold, Williams is considering a request for a preliminary injunction, which would last longer. The state's filing Tuesday urged Williams to reject the injunction request. Lawyers in Uthmeier's office wrote that "states retain inherent sovereign authority to protect their citizens by aiding the enforcement of federal immigration law." "Florida did nothing more in enacting SB 4-C," the document said. "To aid the United States in curbing illegal immigration (and to quell the rush of fentanyl trafficking and gang violence that accompanies it), SB 4-C criminalizes the entry into Florida of those who have illegally entered the United States by evading federal inspection. That law tracks federal law to a tee." The Florida Immigrant Coalition, the Farmworker Association of Florida and two individual plaintiffs filed the lawsuit on April 2 , after the Republican-controlled Legislature passed the law during a February special session. Lawmakers said they were trying to help carry out President Donald Trump's immigration policies . The law created state crimes for undocumented immigrants who enter or re-enter Florida. The challenge alleges the law violates what is known as the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution because immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility. In granting the temporary restraining order, Williams wrote that the plaintiffs "persuasively posit that SB 4-C unlawfully encroaches" on federal power to control immigration. She also cited details of the law, such as its requirements that people convicted of illegally entering the state face nine-month prison terms and longer sentences for subsequent convictions. "First, it gives state officials authority to prosecute illegal entry or reentry in cases where federal actors may choose not to," the judge wrote. "Even when federal officials choose to commence dual prosecutions under both laws, (SB 4-C'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. Additionally, SB 4-C requires mandatory prison sentences for state law violations where the INA (the federal Immigration and Nationality Act) allows for a fine or probation for the equivalent federal crime." But the state's filing Tuesday tried to draw distinctions with federal authority. "Through SB 4-C, Florida primarily regulates entry into Florida — not entry into the country," the state's lawyers wrote. "Nor does it regulate admission or the discretionary process of removal — it does not determine who is to be admitted or who will be removed from the country, decisions left to the federal government." The lawsuit also alleges a violation of the Constitution's Commerce Clause because it "impermissibly regulates people's entry into Florida, and it imposes unacceptable burdens on interstate and foreign commerce." But the state's filing disputed that argument, saying the law "does not target out-of-state economic interests on its face or in its intent, but is designed to deter the influx of illegal aliens into Florida (no matter where they might reside) and prevent the many problems — social, moral, and criminal — that would follow." A temporary restraining order is generally limited to 14 days, and Williams has scheduled a hearing Friday on the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction, which could block the law while the case continues to play out. The Legislature during the special session also passed another bill to crack down on illegal immigration, but the lawsuit does not challenge that measure.
