WASHINGTON—The Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) has filed a brief in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals defending Florida immigration law, which is the target of a lawsuit brought by anti-borders activist groups.
Following the example of Texas, which in response to the border crisis passed a sweeping immigration law, Florida passed a law that makes illegal entry or reentry into the United States a state crime. But the activist plaintiffs in this case claim the law is preempted by federal immigration law.
In its brief, IRLI makes a unique argument, showing that the law, far from being preempted, is actually contemplated by the federal government’s own criminal reentry statute, which makes it a federal crime to reenter the country after having been removed—including having been removed by agreeing to removal in a state court.
“This is yet another meritless lawsuit by groups desperate to stop not just this Administration but states from solving the longstanding problem of illegal immigration that Biden drastically intensified,” said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. “States continue to have a role in this process, and, far from being inconsistent with this state law, federal immigration law explicitly gives effect to state removal laws such as this. We hope our brief, by bringing this feature of federal immigration law to the court’s attention, convinces the court to uphold Florida’s effort to defend itself.”
The case is Florida Immigrant Coalition v. Attorney General, State of Florida, No. 25-11469 (Eleventh Circuit).
