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Immigrant-rights organizations are cheering a federal judge who blocked enforcement of a Florida law criminalizing transportation of undocumented immigrants into the state.

U.S. District Judge Roy Altman of the Southern District of Florida ruled Wednesday that federal law preempts that language in the state law, SB 1718, because federal authorities hold exclusive power to regulate immigration.

He issued a preliminary injunction against the measures enforcement pending further proceedings.

Renata Bozzetto, deputy director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, noted that Altman was appointed by former President Donald Trump.

It is a relief to see a judge rule impartially and fairly to uphold the laws of our country which our state is working so hard to break, she said in a written statement.

Our state government cannot pose itself as one of law and order while bending the Constitution or breaking federal laws. Furthermore, the clarity of Judges Altmans ruling, understanding the irreparable injury that Floridians with an irregular immigration status would suffer at the hands of this unjust and unconstitutional law, is spot on, Bozzetto continued.

The court was right to block this callous and patently unconstitutional law, which had threatened Floridians with jail time for doing the most ordinary things, like going to work, visiting family, and driving kids to soccer games. This ruling is an important victory for Florida communities, said Spencer Amdur, senior staff attorney with the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project, in his own written statement.

In his 12-page ruling, Altman noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to decide the full scope of the federal preemption over state laws like SB 1718, which in its Section 10 criminalizes anyone who knowingly and willfully transports into this state an individual whom the person knows, or reasonably should know, has entered the United States in violation of law and has not been inspected by the federal government since his or her unlawful entry from another country.

Still, Altman wrote, he was bound by a precedent established by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, whose jurisdiction includes Florida.

Without express guidance from the Supreme Court we remain bound by the pronouncements of our circuit, which has held that the unlawful transport and movement of aliens is a fully preempted field, he concluded.

Overall, though, the Supreme Court has made clear that, where Congress occupies an entire field even complementary state regulation is impermissible. This is because field preemption reflects a congressional decision to foreclose any state regulation in the area, even if it is parallel to federal standards, Altman wrote.

There was no immediate response from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed the law a little more than one year ago.

The measure, which the governor at the time described as the most ambitious anti-illegal immigration laws in the country, also barred state and local officials from issuing IDs to any undocumented person or recognizing those issued by other states. It restricts their ability to work and requires law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration officials, among other provisions.

Altmans ruling doesnt affect those provisions.

The Farmworker Association of Florida, an affiliate of the Immigrant Coalition, filed the lawsuit last July, along with individuals belonging to mixed-status families, churches, and communities who feared being prosecuted under the law.

The action originally named DeSantis as a plaintiff, although Altman dismissed him from the case, leaving Attorney General Ashley Moody, Statewide Prosecutor Nicholas Cox, and Floridas 20 local state attorneys to defend the law.

The judge cited discrete injuries both to the Farmworker Association, which was forced to divert resources to avoid violating the law, and the individual plaintiffs, including a nonprofit operator who transports immigrants from Georgia to medical and immigration appointments in Jacksonville and the grandmother of an undocumented immigrant who feared to drive him to visit family in Georgia because of the risk of arrest upon their return to Florida.

As for any damage to the interests of the states from enjoining the law, if a state law is preempted, then the state can suffer no harm from a court order that enjoins that law. Indeed, [t]he United States suffers injury when its valid laws in a domain of federal authority are undermined by impermissible state regulations, Altman wrote.

In other reaction:

Emma Winger, deputy legal director of the American Immigration Council, said: This ruling means freedom from fear and increased safety for families and communities of color in Florida. As states across the country are increasingly passing unjust and unconstitutional laws that target people because of their immigration status, its critical that our courts set a precedent for protecting these families at risk.

Evelyn Wiese, litigation attorney at Americans for Immigrant Justice: Todays decision marks an important victory for Floridians, visitors to Florida, and for the U.S. Constitution. We are gratified that the court recognized the harm that Section 10 does and temporarily blocked this unconstitutional law from remaining in effect, and we will continue to fight against it. But for now, this unjust and illegal law cannot be used to criminalize our clients or the community at large for transporting family, friends, or coworkers.

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Praise for U.S. judge who blocked FL's restriction on transporting undocumented immigrants Florida Phoenix - Florida Phoenix

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