Two men last weekend were wrongly charged under a far-reaching Florida immigration law that’s currently suspended by a judicial order, according to a Monday report from the state attorney general’s office.
Both men were charged in separate instances in Bradenton under a Florida law that outlaws people living in the U.S. illegally from entering the state, even though a federal judge earlier this year said the law could not be enforced while it’s challenged in court.
Attorney general’s contempt and ongoing reports
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier disclosed the latest arrests in a report he has been forced to file with the court twice a month ever since he was found to be in civil contempt for telling officers they could ignore the judge’s order.
Those reports have shown that some Florida officers are continuing to wrongly charge people under the halted law, including two people in June in northeast Florida, two people in July in central Florida and two people in August along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Details of recent arrests
In the most recent cases, a man was pulled over Saturday after a Bradenton officer saw loose branches and unsecured equipment in the back of the man’s truck. The man told the officer he had an expired driver’s license. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sergeant confirmed by phone that the man was in the U.S. illegally and issued an immigration detainer for him, the report said…