Advocacy groups file lawsuit challenging Florida immigration law

Protesters holding signs such as, "Immigrants Make America Great, period!" By: Josh Holton (6/1/23)

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Advocacy organizations filed a federal lawsuit last week challenging Florida’s restrictive new immigration law.

The law is one of the strongest yet against undocumented immigrants, Governor DeSantis said before signing the bill in May.

“We propose strong legislation to curb illegal immigration, both deterring illegal immigrants from coming to Florida but also holding people accountable within Florida who are involved in illegal immigration.”

5 organizations signed the lawsuit, including ACLU of Florida and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The lawsuit focuses on the provisions outlined in Section 10 of the law, which criminalizes the transportation of individuals into Florida who may have entered the country unlawfully and have not been “inspected” by the federal government since.

Paul Chavez, Senior supervising attorney with the SPLC’s Immigrant Justice Project, calls the bill unconstitutional xenophobic, and designed to inflict cruelty.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami.