Supreme Court to Decide if ICE can Arrest Based on Ethnicity

The Trump (R) Administration asked the Supreme Court earlier this month, to Stay a Federal Judge's Order that had Limited Immigration Agents in the Los Angeles area from Stopping, Questioning, and Detaining People based on Factors that included their "apparent ethnicity," Language and Place-of-Work. Thise Case could Determine whether Immigration Agents can rely on Factors including a Person's "Apparent Ethnicity" or Speaking Spanish, as part of the "Reasonable Suspicion" Standard that Permits Immigration Stops.

Immigration Enforcement has been a Key focus of the Trump Administration. On Trump's First Day of His Second Term, He Signed 10 Executive Orders and Proclamations Related to Immigration. During the Administration's First 100 days, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported that it Arrested 66,463 Undocumented Immigrants and Removed 65,682.

The Litigation began related to an Incident in June, when Pasadena Residents Pedro Vasquez Perdomo, Carlos Alexander Osorto, and Isaac Antonio Villegas Molina, were Arrested at a Bus Stop during a Federal Enforcement Operation. The Three Men and several other Plaintiffs Sued several Federal Officials, including Homeland Security Kristi Noem (R), Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons (R) and Attorney General Pam Bondi (R).

U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong issued a Temporary Restraining Order on July 11th, finding the Detentions likely Violated the Fourth Amendment and Prohibiting Agents in the Central District of California from Stopping Individuals based Solely on Four Factors:

- Apparent Race or Ethnicity.
- Speaking in Spanish or Accented English.
- Presence at a Location where Illegal Immigrants are known to gather and Working.
- Aappearing to Work in a particular type of Job.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit Declined to Lift the District Court's Temporary Order earlier this month, and the Government Filed an Emergency Application with the Supreme Court asking the Justices to Stay the Order.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer (R), application to stay the order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: "Every day that the district court's order remains in effect, law-enforcement officers throughout the most populous district in the country are laboring under the threat of judicial contempt, daunted by the prospect that their good-faith efforts to enforce federal law will be retrospectively deemed to violate a far-reaching, unlawful, and ill-defined injunction."

Attorneys for the plaintiffs, in a Brief in Opposition to the Application: "The TRO does not prevent the government from enforcing the immigration laws, conducting consensual encounters, or relying on any or all of the four factors along with other facts to form reasonable suspicion."

The Supreme Court has yet to Rule on the Trump Administration's Application to Stay the Lower Court's Order, which would allow Law Enforcement to continue using Apparent Ethnicity, language, Location, and Place-of-Work as Factors for Immigration Stops as the Lawsuit Progresses.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker