Law enforcement said they arrested Lopez-Gomez under Florida’s SB 4C, which Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed in February. SB 4C makes it a misdemeanor (punishable by a mandatory nine months of incarceration) for immigrants (“unauthorized aliens” per the statute) to “knowingly” enter Florida “after entering the United States by eluding or avoiding examination or inspection by immigration officers.” There are escalating punishments for people who have prior immigration arrests. Basically, it is an “illegal entry” statute for Florida. (There is a federal “illegal entry” statute that makes it a misdemeanor to enter the country without prior authorization, like a visa or asylum claim. Being in the United States without a valid visa or other temporary status is not a “crime” but a civil offense.)
On April 4 of this year, a federal judge blocked implementation of the law pending a hearing that happened on April 18. Lo and behold, it turned out that Florida law enforcement agencies had just decided to ignore the temporary restraining order, which forbade Florida for enforcing SB 4C. According to local reporting, Florida’s lawyers argued bizarrely that the injunction did not include law enforcement in Florida, even though law enforcement in Florida are plainly tasked with enforcing Florida law—indeed, I’m pretty sure they’re the only ones with that power.
DeSantis has been clear that he wants Florida to be as anti-immigrant as possible. Every sheriff’s office in the state has 287(g) agreements, as do many city police departments, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and state police. In late February, before the injunction went into theoretical effect, the governor gave a speech about how he wanted every law enforcement agency to enter into a 287g agreement and he touted the efficacy of SB 4C. (Interestingly, the video of this speech, which I linked to in a piece I wrote for The Bulwark, seems to have been scrubbed from the internet.)
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