Florida attorney general identifies wrongful charges under halted immigration law

ORLANDO Fla AP At least two people have been wrongly charged under a Florida law that outlaws people living in the U S illegally from entering the state since a federal judge halted its enforcement according to a document Florida s attorney general is required to file as punishment for defying the judge s ruling Both men were arrested in late May by deputies in northeast Florida s St Johns County more than a month after U S District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami issued an order freezing the enforcement of the state statute The law makes it a misdemeanor for undocumented expatriates to enter Florida by eluding immigration agents Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier noted in his overview filed at the beginning of July that he only became aware of the two cases at the end of June after requesting information from state and local law enforcement As punishment for flouting her order and being detected in contempt the judge requires Uthmeier to file bimonthly reports about whether any arrests detentions or law enforcement actions have been made under the law On May St Johns County Sheriff s Office deputies arrested a man with an proceeding immigration detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and another man on counts of illegal entry and driving without a valid driver s license according to the status document As corrective action the charge involving the man with the ICE detainer was dismissed in state court and prosecutors filed a motion that was granted to vacate the charge for illegal entry in the second circumstance R J Larizza state attorney for the jurisdiction that covers St Johns County revealed in a separate filing Florida Gov Ron DeSantis signed the provision into law in February as part of President Donald Trump s crackdown on illegal immigration Immigrants rights groups filed a lawsuit on behalf of two unnamed Florida-based immigrants living in the U S illegally shortly after the bill was signed into law The lawsuit explained the new ordinance violates the Supremacy Clause of the U S Constitution by encroaching on federal duties Williams issued a temporary restraining order and injunction that barred the enforcement of the new law statewide in April The attorney general s office then unsuccessfully petitioned the th Circuit Court of Appeals to override that decision Uthmeier has petitioned the U S Supreme Court to review the incident After Williams issued her original order Uthmeier sent a memo to state and local law enforcement officers telling them to refrain from enforcing the law even though he disagreed with the injunction But five days later he sent a memo saying the judge was legally wrong and that he couldn t prevent police officers and deputies from enforcing the law The judge last month revealed Uthmeier to be in civil contempt of her ruling