The Supreme Court on Monday allowed federal agents to restart immigration raids in Los Angeles, giving a push to President Donald Trump’s extensive deportation campaign.
The court’s conservative majority overturned a federal judge’s July 11 ruling that had prevented federal agents from stopping or detaining individuals without “reasonable suspicion” of their undocumented status.
U.S. District Judge Maame Frimpong had previously asserted that the Trump administration’s actions likely violated the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protection against unwarranted searches and seizures, as they targeted people based on their accents, appearance, and occupation.
However, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court granted an urgent request from the Justice Department to pause the previous order, thereby permitting the raids to continue.
In a concurring opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh stated that “ethnicity by itself cannot establish reasonable suspicion,” but it can be a “‘relevant factor’ when considered along with other significant elements.”
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the decision.
“We should not have to live in a country where the Government can apprehend anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to hold a low-wage job. Rather than remain passive while our constitutional freedoms are lost, I dissent,” Justice Sotomayor wrote in her dissenting opinion.
Justice Sotomayor described the ruling as “yet another serious misuse of our emergency docket.”
The urgent appeal submitted by the Justice Department argued that the court-imposed limitations on what the administration termed “roving” raids in Los Angeles amounted to a “straitjacket” hindering the administration’s deportation efforts.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer conveyed in an emergency filing to the Supreme Court that profiling targets increased the likelihood of encountering someone who is in the country unlawfully.
“No one believes that speaking Spanish or being employed in construction always establishes reasonable suspicion,” Sauer wrote. “Nor does anyone suggest those are the sole factors federal agents ever consider. But in numerous situations, such factors—either individually or combined—can heighten the probability that an individual is unlawfully present in the United States, surpassing the district’s baseline odds of 1-in-10.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi applauded the Supreme Court’s decision on X.
“Now, ICE can continue carrying out roving patrols in California without judicial micromanagement. We will persist in our efforts and secure victories for @POTUS agenda in court,” the post stated.
The Los Angeles operations are part of a broader conflict between California Governor Gavin Newsom and President Trump, who had deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles in June, a move that a federal judge subsequently deemed illegal.
