MIAMI — A judge temporarily blocked part of a Florida law forcing local police officers to help federal immigration officers transport undocumented immigrants, but a big part of the law stayed in place and took effect Tuesday.
The Miami Herald reports Miami U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom shot down the part of SB 168 that instructs local cops to cross state lines to help federal immigration officers. At least for now, her ruling means local officers can't transport undocumented immigrants across state borders -- deciding that responsibility rests solely with the federal government.
However, Bloom reportedly left in place the parts of the law that require local police to hold undocumented immigrants in jail for an extra 48 hours until ICE can pick them up.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law back in June. It took effect in July but wasn't set to be enforced until Tuesday.
As radio station WMFE explained, the legislation means Florida's governor and attorney general now have the power to remove elected leaders who don't follow the new immigration rules.
The law also prevents sanctuary cities, although Florida doesn't currently have any of them.
CNN reports immigrant-rights groups and the city of South Miami sued over the sanctuary cities ban, arguing it would make cities less safe by fueling fear of law enforcement in migrant communities.
According to the Pew Research Center, Florida had nearly 800,000 unauthorized immigrants in 2016.
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