ACLU Comment on White House Request for $33 Billion for Border Militarization

The lawsuit exposes SB 4C as a sweeping and unlawful expansion of state power under the guise of immigration enforcement MIAMI — The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida, ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, and Americans for Immigrant Justice filed a federal lawsuit today challenging Florida’s new extreme anti-immigrant law, Senate Bill 4C (SB 4C), which authorizes state and local law enforcement to imprison people based on their manner of entering the country — powers the Constitution reserves exclusively to the federal government. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, is brought on behalf of the Farmworker Association of Florida, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, and individual plaintiffs — including longtime Florida residents with pending federal immigration applications and with U.S. citizen family members who rely on their care. “Florida’s SB 4C is not just unconstitutional — it’s cruel and dangerous,” said Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. “This law strips power from the federal government and hands it to state officers with no immigration training or authority, threatening to tear families apart and detain people who have every legal right to be here. Our communities deserve safety, dignity, and due process — not politically motivated attacks.” Signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis on February 13, SB 4C immediately criminalized a new set of immigration-related offenses under state law, punishing individuals who are 18 or older with mandatory incarceration for “illegal entry” or “illegal reentry” into the state of Florida — even if they are pursuing federal immigration relief which allows them to lawfully remain in the country. “Florida has already started to arrest and prosecute family members, friends, neighbors, and community members,” said Hannah Steinberg, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. “We are asking the court to immediately stop Florida from enforcing this unconstitutional law to prevent further devastation to communities across the state.” The law follows statutes from other states that federal courts have unanimously blocked, and it directly conflicts with the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause and Commerce Clause. The lawsuit asks the court to immediately halt enforcement of the unconstitutional law. “Our plaintiffs include a mother applying for a U visa as a victim of crime, a mother of four caring for a child with disabilities, and farmworkers who regularly travel between Florida and other states to harvest our food,” said Amy Godshall, legal fellow and immigrants' rights attorney at the ACLU of Florida. “This law not only violates the Constitution — it threatens the safety and well-being of people who have lived in our communities for decades.” The complaint details how SB 4C forces state law enforcement to make complex federal immigration determinations, authorizes the detention of people who pose no threat, and criminalizes individuals whom the federal government may later grant asylum, visas, or permanent status. The law makes no exceptions for people seeking humanitarian protection or people with pending applications for immigration relief. “Florida's recently passed SB 4C, is an attempt to bypass federal immigration oversight and empower state law enforcement officials to enforce immigration policies,” said Paul R. Chavez, litigation and advocacy director of Americans for Immigrant Justice. “This law could lead to the detention of individuals who pose no threat to our communities,and the denial of basic civil rights protections to immigrants. SB 4C is unconstitutional and may instill fear in the state, potentially driving many immigrants and their families into hiding. We proudly stand in solidarity with our immigrant community to advance and protect all our civil rights.” "Florida’s new SB 4C law is an unconstitutional and devastating attack on Floridians who are immigrants, criminalizing individuals based on just existing in our state,” said Tessa Petit, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition. “For well over a century, courts have made clear that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, yet Florida is attempting to overstep its bounds, just as similar laws in Texas, Iowa, and Oklahoma tried. As a leading advocate for Florida’s immigrant community, FLIC is standing against this unconstitutional and unjust law." “Instead of addressing important issues such as affordable housing, inflation and public transportation, this law tears apart families,” said Rene Gomez, the Civic Engagement Coordinator of the Farmworkers Association of Florida (“FWAF”). “Our farmworking and immigrant community are the backbone of this state, contributing to billions in revenue through their labor and taxes. Every resident of our state, whether they are citizens or not, benefits from the contributions of our members and will also be negatively impacted by the economic toll this law will have.” The complaint is here.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, and Americans for Immigrant Justice filed a federal lawsuit challenging Florida’s new extreme anti-immigrant law, Senate Bill 4C (SB 4C), which authorizes state and local law enforcement to imprison people based on their manner of entering the country — powers the Constitution reserves exclusively to the federal government. The lawsuit is brought on behalf of the Farmworker Association of Florida (FWAF), the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), and individual plaintiffs — including longtime Florida residents with pending federal immigration applications and with U.S. citizen family members who rely on their care.

WASHINGTON – New documents obtained by the ACLU this week reveal critical details about an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy directive issued under the Biden administration regarding the use of special management units, or solitary confinement cells, in immigration detention. The documents were obtained as a result of a FOIA lawsuit filed by the ACLU in January 2025. The new findings are critical to understanding what policies immigrants in ICE detention may be subject to, and in turn, will enable legal counsel to better defend immigrants who are subject to solitary confinement in ICE detention. “ICE has largely hidden its use of solitary confinement to abuse people held in immigration detention, and our FOIA findings provide much needed disclosure regarding the standards and requirements for using solitary confinement units,” said Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s National Prison Project. “These documents help us better understand how ICE is allowed to use solitary confinement units, and in turn, enable us to ensure peoples’ rights are being upheld in immigration detention.” In December 2024, ICE announced that it had issued policy updates for the use of solitary confinement cells for detained immigrants, however, it did not publicly release a copy of the updated policy and failed to respond to a FOIA request filed by the ACLU that same month. Notably, the documents reveal that the new policy directive requires: Individualized assessments, including a review of an individual’s medical and mental health care needs, be completed when deciding to place an individual in solitary confinement. Solitary confinement only be used as a last resort and when no other viable options exist for detention of pregnant individuals. ICE to make “every effort” to place detainees with significant physical illnesses or serious mental illnesses in a setting in or outside the facility in which appropriate treatment can be provided. ICE to provide the reason for solitary confinement to the individual impacted in a language or manner they can understand. The government’s justification for solitary confinement must also be documented and entered into an ICE database. ICE’s use of solitary confinement units has prompted active concern and attention from Congress and other immigrants’ rights advocates. Nearly 50 members of Congress wrote to the Department of Homeland Security in April 2024, raising concern about the use of solitary confinement in immigration detention facilities. Recent reports from advocates and the media have also documented ICE’s widespread and abusive use of solitary confinement. The FOIA documents are available here: https://www.aclu.org/documents/foia-document-review-of-the-use-of-special-management-units-for-ice-detainees

UPDATE: Mere hours after sending this press release out, the judge in our case granted our request fir a temporary restraining order preventing the law from being enforced until a decision is made on a preliminary injunction. BOISE — The ACLU of Idaho and the ACLU filed a lawsuit today against the state of Idaho to stop enforcement of House Bill 83, which was signed into law earlier in the day. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the Idaho Organization of Resource Councils, the Alliance of Idaho, and five anonymous noncitizens. The lawsuit asks the court to enjoin enforcement of the law. It requests an emergency temporary restraining order preventing enforcement against anyone. The lawsuit argues that H.B. 83 violates the U.S. Constitution by attempting to supersede the federal government’s oversight of immigration enforcement, by impermissibly limiting interstate commerce, and by failing to give ordinary people fair notice of what conduct it proscribes. “The state of Idaho cannot enforce this unconstitutional law,” said Paul Carlos Southwick, ACLU of Idaho legal director. “Every other court to have considered similar laws, including conservative federal appellate courts, have stopped laws like this one from going into effect.” “Idaho’s effort to circumvent the federal immigration system is unconstitutional and will have devastating consequences for families and communities,” said Hannah Steinberg, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. “Friends, family members, neighbors, and community members will be pushed into harm’s way regardless of their immigration status. Even people with pending applications for immigration relief can be prosecuted.” “We are disappointed that Idaho’s elected officials seem comfortable with disparaging immigrants, even while recognizing that immigrants are the backbone of several labor industries in our state,” said Ruby Mendez-Mota, ACLU of Idaho campaign strategist. “Not only that, but this is clearly racially motivated, as lawmakers pointed out during debates about this bill. This is absolutely a slap in the face for the Latino community, and we will not tolerate it.” “It is unfortunate that elected officials did not heed our warnings about this unconstitutional bill,” said Leo Morales, ACLU of Idaho executive director. “The ACLU will not stand by as elected officials disregard our constitution. We will see you in court.”