Supreme Court blocks contentious Florida immigration law

The latest: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier's spokesperson Jae Williams said the AG's office "will proceed with our appeal, and we thank Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice for their brief in support" of the measure in court.

• "Thanks to President Trump, we can still carry out the intent of Florida's immigration law through our nation-leading number of 287(g) agreements with ICE, but Florida's sovereignty cannot be left up to the whims of the next presidential administration," Williams added.
• "The law passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor DeSantis is important to Florida's future, and we believe it will prevail on the merits."

Catch up quick: Earlier this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on the state's harshest immigration reform yet in an attempt to support Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigration.

• The sweeping law directs local governments to partner with federal immigration efforts while broadening the reasons cops can detain immigrants and narrowing protections for undocumented crime victims and witnesses.
• It made it a felony for certain immigrants to enter Florida and mandated pretrial detention without bond.
• Policies that impede immigration enforcement are now prohibited in Florida, and sheriffs are required to share inmates' immigration status with ICE. Noncompliance can result in fines and suspension.

Zoom in: It immediately faced a challenge from immigrant rights groups on the grounds that it would lead to racial profiling and discrimination.

• The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also said the state law conflicts with federal law that says the federal government, not the states, is responsible for enforcing immigration law.
• A federal district court issued a preliminary injunction against the law in April.
• The 11th U.S. Circuit Court refused a request from Uthmeier to put the order on hold.

The intrigue: The Supreme Court did not provide reasoning for rejecting Florida's appeal.

• No justices noted any dissent.

What they're saying: "This denial reaffirms a bedrock principle that dates back 150 years: States may not regulate immigration," said Cody Wofsy, Deputy Director of the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, in a statement.

• "It is past time for states to get the message."

• "This ruling affirms what the Constitution demands — that immigration enforcement is a federal matter and that no one should be stripped of their liberty without due process," said Bacardi Jackson, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida, said.

The other side: Uthmeier told the Supreme Court the law is necessary to shield residents from "the surge of illegal immigration."

• Uthmeier's office did not immediately respond to Axios for comment.

Between the lines: Efforts to arrest and remove unauthorized immigrants appear most aggressive in Florida and other southern states with Democratic-leaning cities, according to an Axios analysis.

• The analysis shows that local law enforcement agencies in Texas and Florida have been the most cooperative with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in rounding up immigrants through deals known as 287(g) agreements.
• There are 629 such agreements now in place across the country. About 43% of them are in Florida.

What we're watching: The constitutionality of the law is still facing a challenge, like other similar state immigration laws in Texas, Oklahoma, Idaho and Iowa.

• Those cases are all expected to end up in the Supreme Court.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from Florida Attorney General's office spokesperson Jae Williams.