WASHINGTON (TNND) \u2014 In the latest victory for the Trump administration, the Supreme Court cleared the way on Monday for federal agents to conduct sweeping immigration operations in Los Angeles. <\/p>\n
The move lifted a restraining order from a judge<\/a> who found “roving patrols” were conducting indiscriminate arrests and stopping people based on race, language, job or location. <\/p>\n \u201cThe factors that defendants appear to rely on for reasonable suspicion seem no more indicative of illegal presence in the country than of legal presence \u2014 such as working at low-wage occupations such as car wash attendants and day laborers,\u201d Judge Maame E. Frimpong wrote. \u201cThat is insufficient and impermissible.\u201d<\/p>\n Frimpong stated that the “roving patrols without reasonable suspicion violate the Fourth Amendment <\/a>to the Constitution.”<\/p>\n In the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision<\/a>, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, \u201cCountless people in the Los Angeles area have been grabbed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed simply because of their looks, their accents, and the fact they make a living by doing manual labor. Today, the Court needlessly subjects countless more to these exact same indignities.”<\/p>\n Attorneys for the Department of Homeland Security argued that immigration officers target people based on illegal presence in the country, not on race or ethnicity. <\/p>\n The Trump administration said the order is too restrictive, \u201cthreatening agents with sanctions if the court disbelieves that they relied on additional factors in making any particular stop.\u201d<\/p>\n Immigrant advocacy groups filed suit in July, accusing the administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned people in Southern California. The lawsuit included three detained immigrants and two U.S. citizens as plaintiffs.<\/p>\n Additionally, a federal judge ruled on Sept. 2<\/a> that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated federal law when they used troops in Los Angeles<\/a> to protect federal agents during an aggressive immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n \u201cThe evidence at trial established that Defendants systematically used armed soldiers (whose identity was often obscured by protective armor) and military vehicles to set up protective perimeters and traffic blockades, engage in crowd control, and otherwise demonstrate a military presence in and around Los Angeles. In short, Defendants violated the Posse Comitatus Act,\u201d Judge Charles Breyer wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n