In California, the Trump administration was ordered to stop random immigration stops due to concerns about racial profiling.
The Trump administration has been ordered by a federal judge to stop making random immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties, including Los Angeles.
Following a complaint brought by immigrant advocacy groups last week, Judge Maame E. Frimpong on Friday barred the administration from conducting raids using what have been deemed unconstitutional techniques. The administration is accused in the US district court lawsuit of deliberately targeting people with brown skin in Southern California as part of its continuing immigration crackdown. Among the claimants are two US citizens and three detained immigrants, one of whom was detained even after presenting identification to the authorities.
The injunction also extends to Ventura County, where federal officials raided on a cannabis farm on Thursday, leading to the detention of busloads of workers as the court hearing was underway. leading to clashes with protesters and multiple injuries.
In a different ruling, Frimpong prohibited the federal government from limiting lawyer access at an immigration detention center in Los Angeles.
The day following a hearing in which advocacy groups contended that the government violated violation of the constitution’s fourth and fifth amendments, the judge granted the emergency measures, which are a temporary solution while the lawsuit is pending.
There was a “mountain of evidence” that the federal government was engaging in the infractions they were being accused of, she noted in the decision.
Attorney Sean Skedzielewski, speaking on behalf of the government, stated that there was no proof that federal immigration agents took race into account when making arrests and that they only took appearance into account as part of the “totality of the circumstances,” which also included previous surveillance and field interactions.
According to him, they occasionally also used “targeted, individualized packages” in their operations.
“Any claims that individuals have been ‘targeted’ by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically FALSE,” written Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin of the Department of Homeland Security in an email.
“Enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence” prior to making an arrest, according to McLaughlin.
Immigration officers are accused by advocates of making unwarranted arrests, denying prisoners access to legal representation at a holding center in downtown Los Angeles, and detaining someone based only on their race.
The American Civil Liberties Union claims that “broad stereotypes based on race or ethnicity” and a “arbitrary arrest quota” have been the driving forces behind the recent wave of immigration enforcement.
One of the US citizens detained, Brian Gavidia, was “physically assaulted … for no other reason than he was Latino and working at a tow yard in a predominantly Latin American neighborhood,” according to ACLU counsel Mohammad Tajsar.
The ruling issued on Friday will prohibit the government from stopping someone based only on reasonable suspicion, such as someone’s occupation, appearance at a place like a vehicle wash or tow yard, speaking Spanish or English with an accent, or apparent race or ethnicity.