U.S. Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to Resume Immigration Raids in California
WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2025 — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sided with the Trump administration in a high-stakes immigration case, allowing federal agents to resume aggressive raids in Southern California that critics say rely heavily on racial and language profiling.
In a brief, unsigned order, the court lifted a lower court’s injunction that had blocked immigration officers from detaining people without “reasonable suspicion” of unlawful status. The suspension now permits agents to consider factors such as race, ethnicity, or accented speech during stops — a practice opponents argue amounts to unconstitutional targeting of Latinos.
The decision drew a sharp dissent from the court’s three liberal justices. Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned that the ruling effectively authorizes agents to treat “all Latinos, U.S. citizens or not, who work low-wage jobs” as fair game for detention. “Rather than stand idly by while our constitutional freedoms are lost, I dissent,” she wrote.
The case stems from a July 11 ruling by U.S. District Judge Maame Frimpong in Los Angeles, who found the raids likely violated the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. Her order, later upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, temporarily halted patrols that relied on race or language as justification for detentions.
The Trump administration quickly celebrated Monday’s reversal. Attorney General Pam Bondi called the decision a “massive victory,” saying agents can now conduct “roving patrols in California without judicial micromanagement.”
Civil rights groups decried the ruling as a setback for immigrant communities. The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which represents a group of Latino plaintiffs including U.S. citizens, accused the administration of “racist deportation schemes” and vowed to continue litigation.
“This decision is a devastating blow,” said ACLU attorney Mohammad Tajsar. “For months, our communities have been subjected to stops and interrogations simply for the color of their skin or the language they speak.”
One plaintiff, Pedro Vasquez Perdomo, described being detained without explanation or warrant. “I was treated like I didn’t matter — locked up, cold, hungry, and without a lawyer,” he said. “Now, the Supreme Court says that’s okay? That’s racism with a badge.”
Concurring with the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that while ethnicity alone cannot establish reasonable suspicion, it may be considered a “relevant factor” alongside others.
The ruling marks the latest in a string of Supreme Court victories for Trump’s hardline immigration agenda during his second term. The court has previously upheld policies allowing deportations to third countries and the revocation of temporary legal protections for hundreds of thousands of migrants.
Trump campaigned in 2024 on promises of record deportations, a pledge that has fueled both fear and resistance in immigrant-heavy communities. In June, he deployed National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles to quell protests against the raids, an extraordinary move that California officials denounced as unlawful.
With Monday’s order, federal agents are poised to intensify operations in Southern California, a region already roiled by protests and lawsuits challenging the administration’s tactics.
Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham
