Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a tough immigration law in February, making it a crime for undocumented immigrants to enter the state. But that law is now on pause — and not everyone is on the same page about what happens next.
On April 4, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams temporarily blocked the law, saying it can’t be enforced while legal challenges play out. Despite that, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier told law enforcement on April 23 they’re still free to enforce it.
But one sheriff is pushing back.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri made it clear he won’t follow the state’s orders. “I don’t think it changes anything,” he told the Florida Phoenix. “We take our direction on something like that from the judge, not from anybody else.”
That puts him directly at odds with DeSantis and Uthmeier. In his letter to law enforcement, Uthmeier wrote, “I cannot prevent you from enforcing §§811.102 and 811.103, where there remains no judicial order that properly restrains you from doing so.”
But Gualtieri isn’t budging. He says he’ll follow the court’s ruling, not the governor’s or attorney general’s wishes.
DeSantis isn’t hiding his frustration. He called Judge Williams an “activist judge” at a press conference on April 7. And on April 23, he doubled down on social media, posting, “The mission continues. Immigration law must be enforced and FL is leading on working with the Trump administration to get it done.”
Civil rights groups, including the Florida ACLU and the Community Justice Project, are battling the law in court. Alana Greer, director of the Community Justice Project, blasted Uthmeier’s letter, warning it could lead to more illegal arrests.
“A federal judge entered not one, but two clear and direct orders stopping enforcement of this law,” she said in a statement. “The Attorney General’s letter makes us gravely concerned that Floridians will continue to be arrested under this unconstitutional statute. We will be back in court to ensure their rights are protected.”
As of now, the fight is far from over. But in at least one Florida county, the sheriff is making his stance crystal clear: he’s listening to the judge, not the politicians.
