Florida Immigration Penalty Law Hits Skeptical Eleventh Circuit

Florida’s penalties for unauthorized migrants received a harsh welcome in the Eleventh Circuit Thursday, with the three-judge panel pushing back against every argument levied by state Attorney General James Uthmeier (R).

The judges asked questions digging into why Florida’s state-based criminal penalties for migrants aren’t generally preempted by federal immigration law—an issue known as “field preemption” as federal law is considered to block the entire field of state regulation.

Senior Judge Charles R. Wilson, along with Judges Adalberto Jordan and Barbara Lagoa, raised issues with how criminal penalties might impose additional or higher penalties than federal law and make lawful ...