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Los Angeles\u2019 mayor and leaders from several immigrant rights groups on Monday denounced the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s decision to allow federal immigration agents<\/a> to racially profile people in Southern California, calling it a blow to civil rights.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Supreme Court … has now given the green light for law enforcement to profile and detain Angelenos based on their race,\u201d Mayor Karen Bass told reporters outside the Home Depot in the Westlake district.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will not stand for this type of discrimination and racism.\u201d<\/p>\n The high court granted the Trump administration\u2019s emergency request to lift a temporary restraining order issued by U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong that barred government agents from engaging in \u201croving patrols\u201d and detaining people based on their appearance.<\/p>\n The court said federal immigration officers can briefly detain and interrogate people about whether they are in the U.S. legally, relying on a \u201ctotality of circumstances\u201d standard for reasonable suspicion.<\/p>\n The justices voted, 6-3, in favor of letting the immigration operations continue as they did in early summer.<\/p>\n Mohammad Tajsar, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, called Monday a sad day. He\u2019s one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs in the case.<\/p>\n \u201cToday is a loss for people\u2019s dignity, for people\u2019s rights, for people\u2019s security and safety,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But the decision to stay Frimpong\u2019s order is not the final word on the matter.<\/p>\n The Supreme Court ruling focused solely on the temporary restraining order. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to rule on a request from immigrant rights groups for a preliminary injunction to bar federal agents from racially profiling people.<\/p>\n A hearing on that matter is scheduled for later this month.<\/p>\n About the lawsuit<\/p>\n Starting in early June, immigration agents in masks and unmarked cars have conducted dozens of sweeps<\/a> at car washes, day laborer centers, farms and elsewhere as part of President Donald Trump\u2019s promise of mass deportations.<\/p>\n The raids have instilled widespread fear in immigrant communities, with some people too afraid to go to work or even leave their homes.<\/p>\n In July, the ACLU of Southern California, Public Counsel and other groups sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security alleging the sweeps violated the U.S. Constitution. They were seeking a halt to the raids.<\/p>\n In the lawsuit, the immigrant rights groups claimed \u201cindividuals with brown skin\u201d were being stopped randomly by federal agents in violation of the Fourth Amendment’s<\/a> prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are warrantless, lawless and aggressive, often violent actions against a whole people simply because of the color of our skin, the language we speak, where we work, where we live,\u201d said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, at the Monday news conference.<\/p>\n \u201cNo local police officer would be allowed to get away with what these officers are getting away with,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Armando Gudino, executive director of the L.A. Worker Center Network, said the Supreme Court showed bias in its decision.<\/p>\n \u201cBy siding with the Trump administration, this court majority has revealed itself as highly prejudicial and has further empowered authoritarianism in this country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n What the justices said<\/p>\n