Florida attorney general held in contempt after enforcing blocked immigration law
A federal judge in Miami held Florida's attorney general, James Uthmeier, in contempt of court for continuing to enforce an immigration law she blocked, and bragging about it in media interviews afterwards.
District court judge Kathleen Williams pointed to Uthmeier's defiance in a scorching ruling on Tuesday afternoon that accused the Republican of twisting words in her April stay of a February law making it a state crime for undocumented aliens to enter Florida.
'Respect for the integrity of court orders is of paramount importance,' Williams, a Barack Obama appointee, wrote.
The contempt finding is the latest episode of an escalating power struggle between rightwing politicians and the courts, which have blocked several of Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies at the national level.
Williams noted that Uthmeier, an ally of the hard-right Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, and a vocal supporter of Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, chose merely to inform state law enforcement agencies of her temporary restraining order preventing them from making arrests.
He then issued a further instruction telling them to go ahead anyway, insisting that Williams's order carried no weight because no specific agency was named.
'It is my view that no lawful, legitimate order currently impedes your agencies from continuing to enforce Florida's new illegal entry and reentry laws,' he told them in a letter.
A Tampa Bay Times analysis last month found that at least 25 people had been arrested under the law, many handed over into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention.
Williams cited the children's book Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll in her conclusion ordering Uthmeier to file bi-weekly reports informing her of any more arrests or detentions made in defiance of her restraining order.
''When I use a word', Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less',' she wrote, quoting the 1871 classic.
''The question is', said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things'. The answer then, as now, is no.
'Litigants cannot change the plain meaning of words as it suits them, especially when conveying a court's clear and unambiguous order. Fidelity to the rule of law can have no other meaning.'
Uthmeier had stopped short of calling Williams an 'activist judge', a favored refrain used by Republicans following legal setbacks, but boasted in media appearances following her stay that he was proud to have defied her, and would continue to do so.
'I'm not going to bow down,' Uthmeier said in a 6 May interview cited in Williams's order.
'This judge is considering whether or not to hold me in contempt. But I am not going to rubber-stamp her order, I'm not going to direct law enforcement to stand down on … carrying out Florida's law.'
In another interview two days later, he said: 'She's issuing this order and saying you gotta tell them all to stand down. I'm not gonna do that,' the ruling states.
Williams wrote that she was 'unconcerned with Uthmeier's criticism and disapproval of the court and the court's order', but maintained that respect for the integrity of her orders was of 'paramount importance'.
She wrote: 'Within the bounds of the local rules and professional rules of conduct, Uthmeier is free to broadcast his continued appeal of the court's injunction and his view that the court's rulings are erroneous.
'However, when instructed to inform law enforcement that they are proscribed from enforcing an enjoined law, he may not tell them otherwise.'
Uthmeier's only public reaction so far appears to be a defiant tweet posted on Tuesday night. 'If being held in contempt is what it costs to defend the rule of law and stand firmly behind President Trump's agenda on illegal immigration, so be it,' he wrote.
The Guardian has contacted his office for further comment.
DeSantis named Uthmeier, his former chief of staff, as attorney general in February to succeed Ashley Moody, whom the governor appointed to fill the remainder of Marco Rubio's US Senate term after he was chosen by Trump to be secretary of state.
On Monday, Williams denied Uthmeier's request to put on hold her earlier injunction while it is being appealed, finding it likely the law will be found unconstitutional.
That decision followed an appeals court ruling earlier this month denying a similar request from Uthmeier. The appellate judges said the case was far from being resolved.
'But we're mindful that the burden in this posture is for the attorney general to make a 'strong showing' that he is likely to succeed on the merits. And we do not think he tips the balance in his favor,' the judges wrote, also noting Uthmeier's 'seemingly defiant posture' regarding Williams's restraining order.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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