A federal judge on Friday found that the Department of Homeland Security has been making stops and arrests in Los Angeles immigration raids without probable cause and ordered the department to stop detaining individuals based solely on race, spoken language or occupation.
US District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, ordered that DHS must develop guidance for officers to determine “reasonable suspicion” outside of the apparent race or ethnicity of a person, the language they speak or their accent, “presence at a particular location” such as a bus stop or their occupation.
Friday’s ruling comes after the ACLU of Southern California brought a case against the Trump administration last week on behalf of five people and immigration advocacy groups, alleging that DHS — which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement — has made unconstitutional arrests.
Frimpong said in his order that the administration “failed” to provide information about the basis on which they made the arrests.
“The Court therefore concludes that the Stop/Arrest Plaintiffs have sufficiently shown at this stage a likelihood of success on the question of whether the stops and arrests at issue have been based solely upon the enumerated factors,” Frimpong wrote.
Frimpong also ordered DHS to maintain and provide documentation of arrests to plaintiffs’ counsel.
CNN has reached out to DHS for comment.
The ACLU of Southern California struck a tone of optimism Friday following the ruling, saying in a statement: “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.”
“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,” said Mohammad Tajsar, senior staff attorney for ACLU of Southern California.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report.
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