Federal Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong of the Central District Court of California ordered the Trump administration on the 11th to stop arbitrarily stopping and arresting undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles and other seven counties in Southern California, and not to restrict lawyers from entering the Los Angeles immigration detention center.
CNN reported that Frimpong’s ruling on the 11th was made after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on behalf of five people and immigrant rights organizations last week. The lawsuit accused the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), of unconstitutionally arresting immigrants and prohibiting detainees from contacting lawyers.
Immigration rights organizations accused President Trump of systematically targeting brown-skinned people in Southern California in his ongoing crackdown on immigration, including three detained immigrants and two U.S. citizens, one of whom was detained despite showing his identity documents.
Flympong found that the DHS had forced stops and arrests without justifiable reasons in a recent raid on undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles, and ordered ICE to stop detaining individuals based solely on race, language of speech or occupation.
Flympong, who was appointed by former President Biden, ordered DHS to develop guidelines for agents to exclude obvious race, ethnicity, language or accent, specific location or occupation when determining whether a suspect constitutes a “reasonable suspicion” element.
In his ruling, Flympong said the court needs to rule on whether the plaintiff can prove that the Trump administration “did patrol without reasonable suspicion and denied detainees access to lawyers.”
In his order, Flympong wrote that the case ruled that there was “substantial evidence” sufficient to prove that the federal government violated the law and failed to provide a basis for arrest.
The temporary restraining order was implemented in seven California counties, including Los Angeles, and applies to DHS, ICE, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Justice. The FBI and the Department of Justice were also listed as defendants in the case and have participated in immigration enforcement operations.
The White House responded to the ruling on the night of the 11th. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, “No federal judge has the power to decide immigration policy. This power belongs to Congress and the president. The law enforcement action was carefully planned and executed, and its skills far exceed the scope of any judge’s authority. We hope that this ruling, which seriously exceeds the judicial authority, will be overturned in the appeal process.”
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said via email, “Any individual who claims that they are targeted by law enforcement because of their skin color is disgusting and absolutely wrong. Law enforcement actions are highly targeted, and agents will do their duty before arresting. The judge is undermining the will of the people.”
