An ongoing legal battle involving the Florida state government under Governor Ron DeSantis is grounded in a curious opinion espoused by U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom, an Obama appointee. Bloom claims that a Florida ban on “sanctuary cities” is unconstitutional because it would be “racist.” Bloom’s ruling, which Florida is appealing, is an extremely blatant case of a leftist judge attempting to enforce laws invented in her own imagination against laws approved by the people of Florida.
Judge claims right to overrule Florida voters
To shut down a Florida law which would prevent cities from inviting illegal immigrants to disobey the law and remain illegally in the state, Judge Bloom called on the worst clause in the Constitution.
The Equal Protection Clause has, for years now, been abused by liberal judges to force states to adopt policies and laws which their voters d not want.
The words “racism” and “discrimination” have become cudgels with which the left beats down any opposition and it is this nobly meant but abysmally vague clause which lets them do it.
No one who passed the Fourteenth Amendment intended that it be eventually used to dismantle the institution of marriage and import millions of foreigners against the wishes of the American people.
Judges like Beth Bloom have twisted and manipulated the Constitution for their own nefarious purposes. In this case the purpose is to undermine Governor DeSantis and his efforts to maintain the rule of law in Florida.
DeSantis and Florida lawmakers passed the law to protect American citizens from municipalities which are explicitly working to hinder law enforcement efforts and protect criminals.
Is this democratic?
According to Beth Bloom this is unconstitutional because it is “racist.” There’s much to unpack in that ruling, which appears to have come only from Bloom’s own feelings and has, for now, dismantled a law legally passed by the people’s elected representatives.
This is a judge on true power trip. Her argument is that the law was motivated by racism, xenophobia, and nationalism and thus violates the Constitution.
Firstly, this appointed judge is employing her subjective opinion to decide the motives of individual state legislators. Secondly, this shows that she has no interest at all in the Constitution itself.
No foreign national has an absolute right to enter the United States and no one who enters illegally has a right to stay in further defiance of the law. The Constitution was meant to protect American citizens, not foreign invaders.
As to the racism, nationalism, and xenophobia, even if these claims were true there would be nothing in the Constitution to prohibit their being the motive for a law which is otherwise completely constitutional.
If Judge Beth Bloom wants to use the Constitution to overrule the democratic process, she may wish to first take a quick look at the Naturalization Act of 1790.