President Donald Trump‘s administration suffered a blow on Friday when a federal judge concluded that federal agents had been “unlawfully” arresting suspected illegal migrants in Los Angeles and six surrounding counties.
Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, imposed two temporary restraining orders banning law enforcement from detaining suspected illegal migrants in the area without reasonable suspicion and insisting those arrested must have access to legal counsel.
Newsweek contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment on Saturday via email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
The Trump administration has launched a major crackdown targeting suspected illegal immigrants, with a surge in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across the country.
In early June anti-ICE demonstrations in Los Angeles turned violent, with vehicles torched and rocks thrown at police. In response Trump ordered the deployment of 4,000 California National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines against the wishes of California Governor Gavin Newsom.
What To Know
On Friday Judge Frimpong concluded there was “a mountain of evidence” that federal agents had been arresting people solely based on characteristics such as race, employment and accent, which she termed a violation of the Fourth Amendment that prohibits unreasonable seizures by the government.
Referring to some arrests in Los Angeles and the six counties Frimpong said: “The seizures at issue occurred unlawfully.”
Two temporary restraining orders were issued by the judge banning federal agents in Los Angeles and surrounding counties from making arrests without reasonable suspicion those detained were in the country illegally, and requiring arrestees to get swift access to lawyers.
Pedro Vasquez Perdomo, the lead plaintiff in the case, said that on June 18 he and other Hispanic workers were arrested while sitting at a bus stop on their way to a construction job. Perdomo said he wasn’t told why he had been arrested or if there was a warrant out for him.
What People Are Saying
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told NPR: “A district judge is undermining the will of the American people. America’s brave men and women are removing murderers, MS-13 gang members, pedophiles, rapists—truly the worst of the worst from Golden State communities. Law and order will prevail.”
Governor Gavin Newsom welcomed the verdict on X writing: “Justice prevailed today.
“The court’s decision puts a temporary stop to federal immigration officials violating people’s rights and racial profiling. California stands with the law and the Constitution — and I call on the Trump Administration to do the same.”
Democratic California State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez said: “The court’s ruling today is a powerful statement against the Trump Administration. As we have suspected, the federal government’s attorneys did not produce any compelling evidence that their cruel and aggressive immigration enforcement is anything more than racial profiling.
“Under questioning, they told the judge they look for people based on their race, their type of clothing and even their facial expressions. This is appalling to hear, but not surprising. We know this reckless federal witch-hunt is about creating terror in vulnerable communities and scoring political points.”
Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “We strongly disagree with the allegations in the lawsuit and maintain that our agents have never detained individuals without proper legal justification. Our federal agents will continue to enforce the law and abide by the U.S. Constitution.”
Mohammad Tajsar, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California, commented: “While it does not take a federal judge to recognize that marauding bands of masked, rifle-toting goons have been violating ordinary people’s rights throughout Southern California, we are hopeful that today’s ruling will be a step toward accountability for the federal government’s flagrant lawlessness that we have all been witnessing.”
Annie Lai, who runs the Immigrant and Racial Justice Solidary Clinic at the UC Irvine School of Law, said: “Today’s ruling has been made possible by everyday people standing up for the idea that the Constitution is still the law of the land, and applies to all of us. Our communities are strong not in spite of their diversity but because of it. While this is only one step in what will undoubtedly be a long fight, it is an important one.”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will be able to get Friday’s ruling overturned and whether it will have any impact on law enforcement outside of Los Angeles and the surrounding counties that were detailed in the case.
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