Florida can't enforce a controversial new law targeting undocumented immigrants entering Florida, the Supreme Court said on July 9 in rejecting an emergency appeal from the state.
The decision leaves in place a lower court's pause on the law while it's being challenged.
The law, which made it a felony for certain immigrants to enter Florida, was passed to help carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier told the Supreme Court the law is needed to protect residents from "the deluge of illegal immigration."
"If a State's police powers are powers at all, they allow a State to criminalize harms destructive to the community," he wrote in the appeal.
Seventeen states told the Supreme Court they're backing Florida's position as did the Trump administration.
Supreme Court won't let Florida enforce controversial immigration law
