by Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
MIAMI — An irritated federal judge said Tuesday that she found it “problematic” and offensive that Florida’s attorney general called illegitimate and unlawful her order temporarily blocking an immigration law that led to the arrest of a U.S. citizen.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams grilled attorneys representing Attorney General James Uthmeier during a hearing here. At issue was an April 23 letter Uthmeier sent to law enforcement declaring that he couldn’t stop them from enforcing a law that makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to illegally enter the state as an “unauthorized alien” and adds heightened penalties for re-entry.
“Do I need to put a ribbon on it?” Williams asked, referring to what more she could do to make her order legitimate.
The temporary restraining order barring the state from enforcing the law was to expire Tuesday, but Williams said she hoped to rule before midnight on whether to extend the suspension for the remainder of the litigation.
‘Surprised and shocked’
The Florida Immigrant Coalition and The Farmworker Association of Florida sued the state over the constitutionality of the law, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed on Feb. 13, which led to Williams’ emergency block on the law on April 4.
However, law enforcement continued arrests after Williams’ order, with a Florida Highway Patrol trooper arresting Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a U.S. citizen born in Georgia, in Leon County on April 16. The 20-year-old stayed in the Leon County Jail for more than 24 hours.
“It is my view that no lawful, legitimate order currently impedes your agencies from continuing to enforce Florida’s new illegal entry and reentry laws,” Uthmeier wrote on April 23 to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, FHP, sheriffs, and police officers.
No arrests under the suspended law have taken place since Williams further clarified on April 18 that her order applied to law enforcement, said Jeffrey DeSousa, an attorney for the defendants.
Defendants in the suit, including Uthmeier and Florida’s state attorneys, have taken the position that law enforcement isn’t bound by the judge’s order because they’re not named defendants in the suit.
Before calling the order illegitimate, Uthmeier sent a letter on April 18, at the direction of Williams, to law enforcement stating that they shouldn’t make arrests under the temporarily blocked law.
“Color me surprised and shocked,” Williams said, asking what had happened in the five days between the letters.
DeSousa said the state didn’t view the April 23 letter as an invitation for law enforcement to disobey the order. Williams disagreed.
Social media posts prompt skepticism from judge
But Uthmeier’s actions in two months in office, flexing his power over agencies and local elected officials, could derail the argument that he can’t discipline law enforcement or direct them to do anything. DeSantis appointed Uthemeier, his former chief of staff, as attorney general in February.
Williams called out social media posts from Uthmeier stating that he had directed FDLE and FHP to monitor protests at Tesla dealerships and FDLE and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to execute a search warrant at a Panama City Beach aquarium.
The judge also brought up letters Uthmeier sent threatening with removal from office the Fort Myers City Council and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer if their municipalities didn’t allow their police to partake in immigration enforcement.
“I don’t see how you can escape all the statements he has made,” Williams said.
Who’s law enforcement listening to?
Aside from discussion regarding Uthmeier’s actions, Williams raised concerns about due process, saying that further arrests under the law would lead to people spending days in jail under charges a prosecutor couldn’t move forward with.
Lopez-Gomez had to remain in jail despite the lack of probable cause for his arrest because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had requested that the jail hold him for 48 hours.
Despite expressing her irritation with Uthmeier, Williams said she wouldn’t make him sit for a deposition, a request plaintiffs’ attorneys said they were considering as the suit goes on.
The same day Uthmeier sent his letter saying he wouldn’t stand in the way of arrests, State Attorney Jack Campbell warned law enforcement to follow Williams’ order.
“This is not optional, and the Court has the ability to hold each of us in contempt for not following her direction,” Campbell, of Florida’s 2nd Judicial District, wrote.
Additionally, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, a member of the State Immigration Enforcement Council established earlier this year, said he and his deputies would listen only to the judge.
“I don’t think it changes anything,” Gualtieri said of Uthmeier’s first letter during a phone interview with Florida Phoenix. “We take our direction on something like that from the judge, not from anybody else.”
The parties agreed to meet again on May 29.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
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