WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, after the Trump Administration requested intervention, the Supreme Court lifted a lower court decision on how immigration officials in the Los Angeles area could conduct stops and raids. The vote was 6-3, along ideological lines. The original injunction, now lifted, banned immigration stops based on four factors: racial profiling, use of Spanish, type of labor being conducted, and anyone’s presence in a location known for a migrant population.
Said Nicole Melaku, NPNA executive director, “Let’s be clear about what this ruling means: in the Los Angeles area today, ‘looking like an immigrant’ is now considered probable cause for stop, arrest, and detention. The Supreme Court is greenlighting racial profiling, effectively dismantling Fourth Amendment protections for millions of people in California and setting a precedent for the rest of the nation. This decision does not make our communities safer – it terrorizes them, empowering ICE to operate on bias rather than evidence, due process, and the procedures of our democracy. We stand with Justice Sotomayor’s powerful dissent, and share her sentiment that this ruling is a devastating blow to the promise of equal justice under the law.”
This administration’s war on immigrants is going to fail,” said Angelica Salas, Executive Director, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). “Very soon, we’ll be back in court continuing the fight against these obviously illegal policies, and we’re confident that the judge will once again see, as she already saw, that there is absolutely nothing legal about ICE targeting people based on their race, how they speak, or their profession. We will continue to watch, document, and protest peacefully what we see is lawless, mass round-ups and a federal policy of cruelty and detention.”
Said Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition, “The Supreme Court is giving ICE the green light to racially profile immigrants and cities with a large majority of communities of color. This ruling threatens to destabilize families, spread fear in immigrant communities, and normalize unconstitutional policing practices that target people simply for how they look, where they live, or what language they speak. All Black and Brown families now face unwarranted harassment from ICE agents on the street, whether in California or New York. Every family in these communities is living with heightened fear, uncertain if their loved ones will return home safely or get through the day, for simply existing. Parents may fear taking their children to school, workers may avoid going to their jobs, and people may avoid seeking essential services, including medical care. This decision undermines the rule of law and constitutional protections of our democracy.”
Said Lisa Sherman Luna, Executive Director of Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), “In America, we value the freedom to be ourselves and our constitutional right to be free from discrimination. Yet today, the Supreme Court decided to allow racial profiling in Los Angeles to continue during ICE enforcement operations. This administration and its appointed justices continue to make decisions that contradict our constitutional freedoms, promoting fear and division based on race, background, and gender while prioritizing the interests of billionaires and corporations over working families struggling to make ends meet. Americans understand that love makes a family, families make vibrant communities, and communities make a prosperous nation. At TIRRC, we will continue to oppose and condemn decisions and policies from leaders who are not even doing the bare minimum to protect our communities’ basic Constitutional rights.”
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The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is a multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition of 88 of the nation’s largest immigrant and refugee rights organizations with reach across over 42 states. Together with our members, we advance immigrant and refugee equity and inclusion, build and expand immigration legal services and integration programming capacity, and drive campaigns that strengthen democracy through increased civic participation. See our website for more information at partnershipfornewamericans.org.