Florida Attorney General Uthmeier appeals to Supreme Court in immigration fight

After an appeals court rejected his arguments, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier last week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and at least temporarily allow enforcement of a new law targeting undocumented immigrants who enter the state.

Uthmeier’s office filed a 34-page document seeking a stay of a preliminary injunction that U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued in April to block the law. A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on June 6 rejected such a stay.

If the Supreme Court grants Uthmeier’s request, the state could enforce the law while what could be a lengthy court battle plays out.

“Florida is enjoined from enforcing its statute to the detriment of Florida’s citizens and the state’s sovereign prerogative to protect them from harm,” lawyers in Uthmeier’s office wrote in the document. “Illegal immigration continues to wreak havoc in the state while that law cannot be enforced. And without this (Supreme) Court’s intervention, Florida and its citizens will remain disabled from combatting the serious harms of illegal immigration for years as this litigation proceeds through the lower courts.”

The request, filed last Tuesday, is the latest twist in a contentious fight about the law, which passed during a February special legislative session and was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The law created state crimes for undocumented immigrants who enter or re-enter Florida, with supporters saying it was aimed at helping carry out President Donald Trump’s policies on preventing illegal immigration.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2025/06/24/uthmeier-immigration-supreme-court-appeal-law/