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SCOTUS gives Trump another win by blocking Florida's harsh anti-immigrant law [1]
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Date: 2025-07-10
SCOTUS does Trump a solid
On the face of it, the Supreme Court blocking a red state from enforcing — at least for now — its draconian anti-immigrant laws seems like a blow to MAGA. It isn't. The opposite is true. Counterintuitively, it further enhances Trump's power to install an unaccountable, unlimited, and unbounded imperial presidency.
(Note: If the reader is familiar with the Florida law and the SCOTUS stay, they can skip down to The danger)
The Law
In Florida, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and the GOP state legislature have waged an increasingly hostile civil war. Unlike DC, where the Legislature has given away its power to the President, Florida lawmakers have refused to issue the Governor a blank check.
However, the two sides agreed on legislation that makes Florida proudly hostile to immigrants. The state, where 2 out of 9 residents ( 22.1% ) were born in a foreign country, decided its already harsh anti-immigrant laws were not yet punitive enough.
Here are the new penalties imposed on the undocumented:
The legislation denies bail on felony charges.
It mandates the death penalty for capital crimes.
It narrows protections for crime victims and witnesses.
Police would only be allowed to withhold victim or witness information from federal immigration authorities if that person is deemed "necessary" to investigate or prosecute a crime.
It ruled that undocumented students would no longer be eligible for in-state tuition.
It also would make it a first-degree misdemeanor — with a mandatory minimum sentence of nine months — to enter or attempt to enter the state of Florida after illegally entering the US.
It prohibits "sanctuary policies" that impede immigration enforcement and directs sheriffs to share inmates' immigration status with ICE.
The Stay
Civil-rights groups appealed the law to a Florida-based U.S. district judge, Kathleen Williams. They succeeded. She barred the state from carrying out arrests and prosecutions under the law while a legal challenge plays out in lower courts. Williams ruled that Florida's law conflicted with the federal government's authority over immigration policy.
The state appealed to the US Supreme Court. In a one-sentence dismissal , SCOTUS upheld the lower Court's stay.
This ruling seems like a setback for anti-immigrant MAGAs. Stephen Miller, for one, came out fighting for Florida. Trump's po-faced, anti-immigrant fanatic fired up his America First Legal group to back the state's appeal to the justices.
FL AG James Uthmeier's office said they "will proceed with our appeal, and we thank Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice for their brief in support" of the measure in Court.
On the other side, pro-immigrant rights groups celebrated the stay. Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, declared:
"This denial reaffirms a bedrock principle that dates back 150 years: States may not regulate immigration. It is past time for states to get the message."
The Danger
People cheering the Supreme Court's ruling should be careful about celebrating. In this instance, it appears to be a win — at least temporarily. SCOTUS didn't overturn the legislation; it merely delayed its enforcement. However, the odds are good that the Court will ultimately rule that Florida overstepped its constitutional bounds.
Let's think about that.
If, as expected, this Court does tell Florida to get back in its lane, it will reinforce that the President has sole authority to determine immigration policy. This ruling will give Trump and anti-immigrant activists free rein to challenge blue state laws that protect undocumented immigrants. And it will deny local jurisdictions the right to establish sanctuary cities.
It will give Trump more cover to send his masked and anonymous ICE Brown Shirts into liberal states to harass anyone, including citizens, on the specious grounds that the states are acting unconstitutionally. Even if he oversteps the mark, he can use the Court's decision to unlawfully invade and occupy a state and linger there while the legal issues are sorted .
If the Democrats take back the US House in 2026 (likely) and the US Senate (maybe), they will be equally constrained from passing laws that give rights and protection to the undocumented — regardless of what has happened in the past. This Supreme Court cares nothing for precedent ( see Dobbs ). And it has ruled that somewhere the Constitution says the President is above the law .
Conclusion
Immigration is the issue that allows Trump to send the National Guard and regular military into the states. Even if Florida loses its appeal, there's nothing to stop Trump from enforcing Florida's anti-immigrant provisions, not just in Florida but in every state.
The only difference is that immigrants will have to be locked up in federal rather than state prisons. Luckily for Trump, Congress has given him the funds to build those federal prisons.
Conclusion Part II (the silver lining — sort of)
What one President does, another can undo — if the people still get to elect their President in 2028. It that though terrifies you, show up to protest at every opportunity. And vote in every election. Fatalism is fatal.
[END]
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[1] Url:
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