https://www.wftv.com/news/local/judg...B3108yzdcL-okA

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Pointing to the federal government’s power to regulate immigration, a U.S. district judge Friday temporarily blocked a new Florida law aimed at cracking down on undocumented immigrants.

Miami-based Judge Kathleen Williams issued a 14-page decision granting a request for a temporary restraining order against the law, which the Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved in February.

The law created state crimes for undocumented immigrants who enter or re-enter Florida. Williams issued the temporary restraining order two days after the Florida Immigrant Coalition, the Farmworker Association of Florida and two individual plaintiffs filed the lawsuit alleging, in part, that the law violates what is known as the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution because immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility.

Williams wrote that the plaintiffs “persuasively posit that SB 4-C (the law) unlawfully encroaches” on federal power to control immigration. She also cited details of the law, such as its requirements that people convicted of illegally entering the state face nine-month prison terms and longer sentences for subsequent convictions.

A temporary restraining order is generally limited to 14 days, and Williams scheduled an April 18 hearing on the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction, which could block the law while the case continues to play out.