From the Associated Press: 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.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the broad order went too far in restricting how Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents can carry out brief stops for questioning.
“To be clear, apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion; under this Court’s case law regarding immigration stops, however, it can be a ‘relevant factor’ when considered along with other salient factors,” he wrote in a concurrence with the majority’s brief, unexplained order. He suggested that stops in which force is used could yet face more legal pushback.
The three liberal justices dissented in the 6-3 ruling, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic to serve on the court, wildly claimed in a scathing rebuke, “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. Today, the Court needlessly subjects countless more to these exact same indignities.”
“We should not have to live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low wage job. Rather than stand idly by while our constitutional freedoms are lost, I dissent,” Sotomayor fumed.
🚨 In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court pauses a lower court ruling that had prohibited the Trump administration from conducting roving immigration arrests across Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/s1KMwyZW2D
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 8, 2025
The Supreme Court ruling blocks the July 11 ruling by Los Angeles-based U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong. Frimpong, 49, was born in Los Angeles to parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Ghana. She was nominated by Joe Biden in 2021, as part of his pledge to appoint more female and minority judges. Now, her ruling to stop immigration enforcement has been overturned by the Supreme Court.
Meet Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong — a federal judge in Los Angeles focused on fighting ICE not crime. pic.twitter.com/pewBL6Wv7R
— Jack Wallace (@JackWallace888) July 12, 2025
BREAKING: SCOTUS will allow the Trump administration to resume carrying out controversial immigration sweeps in the Los Angeles area again, for now, as SCOTUS has just stayed LA federal judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong’s July order blocking the sweeps. The 9th Circuit Court of…
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) September 8, 2025
The Supreme Court blocks a federal judge’s ruling that restricted federal officers’ ability to conduct immigration stops in the Los Angeles area. https://t.co/xDBLe42K5f
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 8, 2025
BREAKING: The Supreme Court lifts restrictions on Los Angeles immigration stops, clearing the way for federal agents to conduct sweeping immigration operations. https://t.co/kx6fhz8LmU
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 8, 2025
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