The Bartow Police Department arrested a driver and passenger in July and charged them with violating a state immigration law that has been blocked by a federal judge, according to a bimonthly report from the Florida Attorney General’s Office.
The two previously unreported arrests indicate a back-and-forth between Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams over the controversial state law – which ended with Uthmeier in contempt of court – has left some local police unclear on what they can enforce.
The law, which makes it a state crime to enter Florida illegally, was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in February and resulted in multiple arrests, but it was blocked in April by Williams after immigrant-rights groups challenged its legality, arguing immigration enforcement falls to the federal government rather than the state…