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.

“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.

Jeremy T. Redfern, Uthmeier’s communications director, responded: “When was the last time the ACLU defended the civil liberties of Americans? It appears that their interests align with illegal aliens who have no right to be in our country in the first place. I’d suggest that they explore a name change.”

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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.

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