Professor Fish Talks to Marshall Project About Florida Immigration Arrests Despite Judge's Order

Professor Eric Fish spoke to the Marshall Project for a July 15 story about Juan Aguilar, an undocumented immigrant arrested, convicted and deported to Mexico under a Florida immigration law that police and prosecutors had been blocked by a federal judge from enforcing. Aguilar is among at least 27 people arrested despite the judge’s order.

“No prosecutor in the state is allowed to prosecute this new crime the Legislature passed,” Fish told the Marshall Project. “They either didn’t know or didn’t care.”

Professor Fish’s primary research is in criminal law, with particular focus on the ethical duties of participants in the criminal process, the structure of immigration crimes, and the system’s emphasis on administrative efficiency. Fish has served as a public defender, first with the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, and later as a Federal Defender in San Diego.