District judge’s order overturned
The Supreme Court has sided with the Trump administration, permitting federal immigration officials to continue raids in Southern California that had been temporarily blocked. This decision nullifies a July 11 injunction from U.S. District Judge Maame Frimpong, who had ruled that the government’s actions likely violated the Fourth Amendment, which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Claims of targeted enforcement
The lawsuit alleged that heavily armed, masked federal agents singled out individuals based on race, ethnicity, or how they spoke. Plaintiffs described the operations as abrupt and forceful, likening them to public abductions. Jason Gavidia, one of the complainants, said he was physically confronted after asserting his U.S. citizenship and being asked to identify the hospital where he was born. Judge Frimpong’s injunction had barred immigration authorities from relying solely on factors such as skin color, language, type of work, or presence at locations like car washes and tow yards when deciding to detain or question someone, noting that none of these alone constitutes “reasonable suspicion.”
Supreme Court divided
After the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to overturn Frimpong’s restrictions on August 1, the Justice Department appealed to the Supreme Court. Government lawyers argued that officers required broad discretion in areas where roughly 10 percent of residents are undocumented. The conservative majority of the high court sided with the administration, while the three liberal justices dissented. The ruling continues a pattern of Supreme Court decisions allowing Trump-era immigration policies to proceed despite legal challenges in lower courts.
