Florida’s Sanctuary City Ban Tossed Out by Judge as Racist
U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom has struck down parts of a Florida law aimed at banning local governments from establishing sanctuary city policies, arguing in part that the law is racially motivated and that it has the support of hate groups.
Landwebs
U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom has struck down parts of a Florida law aimed at banning local governments from establishing sanctuary city policies, arguing in part that the law is racially motivated and that it has the support of hate groups, reports Axios.
Bloom said the law, signed and championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, violates the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause because it was adopted with discriminatory motives and that disproportionately impacts Latino and Black people in Florida by expanding the scope of policing in a state that has historically applied laws unequally. The state had pushed the law — SB 168 — as a public safety measure. But Bloom rejected that argument, saying it was not supported by crime statistics or other evidence. The judge also objected to advocacy groups that she said had an influence in crafting the law, like Floridians for Immigration Enforcement, which she said “has been labeled as an anti-immigrant racialist group.”
