Lower court injunction lifted
The Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to move ahead with immigration raids in Southern California, permitting the use of race, ethnicity, and language as enforcement tools. The decision nullifies a July 11 order from District Judge Maame Frimpong, who had temporarily blocked the operations after determining they were likely unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment’s ban on unreasonable searches and seizures.
Raids accused of racial profiling
The lawsuit challenging the raids described teams of masked, armed agents stopping people based on appearance or speech in what plaintiffs called abduction-like encounters. One individual, Jason Gavidia, said he was physically attacked after officers dismissed his citizenship claims and demanded to know the hospital where he was born. Judge Frimpong’s order prohibited immigration agents from detaining people solely because of factors such as skin color, language, place of employment, or being found at locations like car washes and tow yards, noting that these alone do not create “reasonable suspicion.”
Conservative majority approves raids
After the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to lift Frimpong’s restrictions on August 1, the Justice Department appealed to the nation’s highest court. Government attorneys argued that officers needed flexibility in regions where about one in ten residents is believed to be undocumented. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority backed the administration’s request, while the court’s three liberal justices dissented. The outcome marks yet another high court ruling in support of Trump’s immigration policies.
