On Sept. 8, the U.S. Supreme Court paused a ruling from a federal judge that barred Los Angeles immigration officers from stopping civilians for searches based on race, language, job or location. In Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, the 9th Circuit Court concluded that, in districts where a large portion of the population was Latino, there wasn’t enough grounds for “reasonable suspicion” based on whether they spoke Spanish, their race, their job or if they were found in places that undocumented individuals were stereotyped to be in. This temporary restraining order was initially set in place to prevent the “roving patrols” ICE officers frequently conducted in LA that often led to detaining innocent people. Following the decision, the Trump administration and non-governmental organizations filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, claiming the new restrictions placed a damper on the administration’s crack-down on immigration.
This recent 6-3 decision lifted the temporary restraining order and expanded ICE’s freedom in conducting searches. Some of the justices have publicly dissented against the ruling, including Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who criticized the ruling for subjecting thousands of people to unconstitutional searches and detainment.
Federal attorneys have said such searches were based on suspicion of unlawful presence, not on the aforementioned four factors alone. Instead, these are only aspects officers may consider when investigating unlawful presence. However, ICE has a well-known reputation of prejudice toward members of the Hispanic community. Critics have pointed out that, without judicial oversight to keep it in check, the administration’s offenses toward targeted communities will continue.
This ruling comes as another judicial victory for the Trump administration in its mass deportation plan. The U.S. government is founded on the principle of checks and balances so that no individual branch’s agenda overpowers the others. However, the Supreme Court’s recent rulings have been lenient toward the recent administration, with three justices having been appointed by Trump. When the systems meant to protect our community cannot do so, how can we rest assured?
