Florida AG asks Supreme Court to allow him to continue enforcing controversial immigration law

That law was blocked earlier this year by a federal judge in Miami. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also declined to lift the injunction, paving the way for Uthmeier to seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court.

Uthmeier on Monday urged justices to reverse the federal court's injunction, which he described as detrimental to both state and national interests. 

"Illegal immigration continues to wreak havoc in the state while [the] law cannot be enforced," Uthmeier's office said in the filing Monday.

Absent Supreme Court intervention, Uthmeier argued that Florida and its citizens "will remain disabled from combatting the serious harms of illegal immigration for years as this litigation proceeds through the lower courts."

This was opposed by Florida's attorney general, who argued Monday that "nothing in [S.B.C] poses a conflict with federal law." 

That failed to convince Judge Williams, however. 

Williams, an Obama appointee, took the extraordinary step of initiating contempt proceedings against Uthmeier earlier this month for allegedly violating her injunction and allowing police to make arrests under the law.

Uthmeier, meanwhile, argued Monday that the Supreme Court should intervene and reverse the lower court rulings, which he described in his appeal as a measure "designed to protect future victims of the violence, drugs, and trafficking fueled by the entry and re-entry into Florida of unauthorized aliens."

"Without this Court's intervention, Florida and its citizens will remain disabled from combatting the serious harms of illegal immigration for years as this litigation proceeds through the lower courts," he said.

It is unclear if the Supreme Court will take up the case.