US Supreme Court rejects attempt to enforce Florida immigration law during legal challenge

The US Supreme Court has rejected Florida's bid to enforce a law allowing state officials to prosecute irregular migrants who enter the state, as the legality of the measure is still being considered.

Last month Florida's attorney general asked the Supreme Court to allow the state to enforce the immigration law by overturning a temporary order blocking the law that was issued by Kathleen Williams, a US district judge.

The Supreme Court denied the stay request in a brief unsigned ruling with no explanation, in line with its own practices. For now, the law is on hold and unenforceable.

But later the Supreme Court may have to issue a full ruling on the legality of the law. At present, it has only rejected a bid for the law to be enforced while its legality is still in question.

The ruling comes amid a crackdown by the US federal government, under President Donald Trump, on irregular migrants living in the US, including ones who came to the country as young children or have been US residents for decades without committing any crimes.

The Supreme Court has given Trump wide latitude in his crackdown, reflecting its conservative majority.

But the Florida ruling may signal that the court takes a different view of actions against immigrants by state governments, like Florida, rather than the federal government.

Florida's governor is Ron DeSantis, a Republican who unsuccessfully challenged Trump for the party's presidential nomination last year.