On Friday, Federal Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ordered the Trump administration to temporarily suspend raids against immigrants in Los Angeles and several other California counties after upholding a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union for civil rights violations.
“As required by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, Defendants shall be enjoined from conducting detentive stops in this District unless the agent or officer has reasonable suspicion that the person to be stopped is within the United States in violation of U.S. immigration law,” the judge wrote in her ruling.
Frimpong ruled that federal agents cannot “rely solely” on certain factors when assessing whether to make a “police stop,” such as the “apparent race or ethnicity” of the person in question, the fact that they “speak Spanish,” and their presence in a particular location.
The judge then issued two temporary restraining orders preventing immigration agents from detaining individuals without reasonable suspicion and requiring the Department of Homeland Security to provide legal assistance to people detained in the federal building in downtown Los Angeles.
In legal filings, the ACLU and immigrant rights groups have argued that federal agents are violating the Constitution by arresting “suspects” solely on the basis of skin color, conducting raids without warrants, and denying legal assistance to detainees.
“No matter the color of their skin, what language they speak, or where they work, everyone is guaranteed constitutional rights to protect them from unlawful stops,” ACLU attorney Mohammad Tajsar said.
U.S Attorney Bill Essayli also weighed in on the matter, writing on X after Frimpong’s ruling that “federal agents will continue” to enforce the law and abide by the U.S. Constitution. “We maintain that our agents have never detained individuals without proper legal justification”, he added.
“Justice prevailed today”, said California Governor Gavin Newsom, “the court’s decision puts a temporary stop to federal immigration officials violating people’s rights and racial profiling.”
Los Angeles, along with seven other cities (Culver City, Montebello, Monterey Park, Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood) and the county of the same name, joined the lawsuit filed by the ACLU earlier this week, arguing that raids against immigrants also violate a constitutional amendment that protects the right of states to manage their own judicial systems.
In recent weeks, California’s iconic city has been the epicenter of protests, which then spread nationwide, against ICE’s blanket arrests. Following Frimpong’s decision, LA Mayor Karen Bass said: “Today, the Court ruled in favor of the United States Constitution, of American values and decency — this is an important step toward restoring safety, security and defending the rights of all Angelenos”.
