Supreme Court lifts restrictions on LA immigration stops set after
agents swept up US citizens
[September 09, 2025]
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for
federal agents to conduct sweeping immigration operations for now in Los
Angeles, the latest victory for President Donald Trump's administration
at the high court.
The conservative majority lifted a restraining order from a judge who
found that roving patrols were conducting indiscriminate stops in and
around LA. The order had barred immigration agents from stopping people
solely based on their race, language, job or location.
The court's 6-3 decision followed a pattern of at least temporarily
allowing some of the Republican administration's harshest policies,
while leaving room for the possibility of a different outcome after the
legal case plays out fully. The net effect, meanwhile, has Trump pushing
ahead in many of the areas he considers most critical.
The majority did not explain its reasoning, as is typical on the court's
emergency docket. But Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the lower-court judge
had gone too far in restricting how Immigration and Customs Enforcement
agents can carry out brief stops for questioning. "The prospect of such
after-the-fact judicial second-guessing and contempt proceedings will
inevitably chill lawful immigration enforcement efforts," he wrote in a
concurrence.
Dissent says constitutional freedoms threatened
In a stinging dissent joined by her two liberal colleagues, Justice
Sonia Sotomayor said the decision erodes constitutional freedoms.
“Countless people in the Los Angeles area have been grabbed, thrown to
the ground, and handcuffed simply because of their looks, their accents,
and the fact they make a living by doing manual labor," she wrote.
"Today, the Court needlessly subjects countless more to these exact same
indignities."
Kavanaugh, for his part, suggested stops in which agents use force could
yet face legal challenges.
The Supreme Court’s decision comes as ICE agents also step up
enforcement in Washington as part of Trump’s unprecedented federal
takeover of the capital city’s law enforcement and deployment of the
National Guard.
The lawsuit will now continue to unfold in California, with a hearing
set for Sept. 24. It was filed by immigrant advocacy groups that accused
the Trump administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned
people during his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration in
the Los Angeles area.
U.S. District Judge Maame E. Frimpong in Los Angeles had found a
“mountain of evidence” that enforcement tactics were violating the
Constitution. The plaintiffs included U.S. citizens swept up in
immigration stops. An appeals court had left Frimpong’s ruling in place.
Federal attorneys have said immigration officers target people based on
illegal presence in the U.S., not skin color, race or ethnicity. Even
so, the Justice Department argued that ICE agents can use at least some
of those factors in combination with others, and Kavanaugh said apparent
ethnicity could be a relevant factor for a stop.
More than 5,000 arrests made
The Department of Homeland Security said last week that authorities had
made 5,210 immigration arrests since June 6 and praised the work of its
lead commander there, Gregory Bovino, whose “success in getting the
worst of the worst out of the Los Angeles region speaks for itself.”
The agency promised in an online post to “continue to FLOOD THE ZONE in
Los Angeles” after the high court's decision.
The region has been top priority for the Trump administration, and its
hard-line immigration strategy has spurred protests and the deployment
of the National Guard and the Marines.
The number of raids in the LA area appeared to slow shortly after
Frimpong’s order came down in July, but recently they have become more
frequent again, including an operation in which agents jumped out of the
back of a rented box truck and made arrests at an LA Home Depot store as
the administration carries out the president’s goal of mass
deportations.
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Immigration agents conduct an operation at a car wash Aug. 15, 2025,
in Montebello, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
Attorney General Pam Bondi and border czar Tom Homan both separately
applauded the ruling. “Now, ICE can continue carrying out roving
patrols in California without judicial micromanagement,” Bondi wrote
in a social media post.
The order from Frimpong, who was nominated by Democratic President
Joe Biden, barred authorities from using factors like apparent race
or ethnicity, speaking Spanish or English with an accent, presence
at a location such as a tow yard or car wash, or someone’s
occupation as the only basis for reasonable suspicion for detention.
It had covered a combined population of nearly 20 million people,
nearly half of whom identify as Hispanic or Latino.
‘I was born here in the States’
The plaintiffs argued that Frimpong’s order only prevents federal
agents from making stops that do not align with the Constitution and
Supreme Court precedent.
Chris Newman, legal director for the National Day Laborer Organizing
Network, said the Supreme Court decision will fuel aggressive
immigration enforcement in other major cities. “The Supreme Court
majority makes clear that average non-white workers are targets, and
it functionally gives its stamp of approval for Trump to trample
their bedrock constitutional rights,” he said.
Plaintiffs included three detained immigrants and two U.S. citizens.
One of the citizens was Los Angeles resident Brian Gavidia, who was
shown in a June 13 video being seized by federal agents and pressed
against a metal fence with his arm twisted behind his back as he
yelled: “I was born here in the States. East LA, bro!”
A terrified Gavidia was released about 20 minutes later after
showing agents his identification, as was another citizen stopped at
a car wash, according to the lawsuit.
Democratic leaders in California condemned the decision. Los Angeles
Mayor Karen Bass said she has directed city departments to follow
rules barring the use of municipal resources on federal immigration
enforcement. “This isn’t just an attack on the people of Los
Angeles. This is an attack on every person in this city, and in
every city in this country,” Bass told reporters.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta pointed out the Supreme Court
recently ruled that race can’t be considered in college admissions.
“They prevent the use of race (in college admissions) to tackle
discrimination but allow the use of race to potentially
discriminate," he said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a vocal Trump opponent, said the order would
allow agents wide latitude to make stops “including U.S. citizens
and children, to deliberately harm California’s families and small
businesses.”
Plaintiff Pedro Vasquez Perdomo said ICE agents never explained why
they stopped him or showed a warrant.
“I was treated like I didn’t matter — locked up, cold, hungry, and
without a lawyer. Now, the Supreme Court says that’s okay?" he said
in a statement. “That’s not justice. That’s racism with a badge.”
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Associated Press writers Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles, Amy Taxin in
Santa Ana, Calif., Tran Nguyen in Sacramento, Olga Rodriguez in San
Francisco and Mark Sherman in Washington contributed to this report.
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