❓WHAT HAPPENED: A far-left federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden is set to impose an order effectively ending Trump administration immigration enforcement actions across southern California, including in Los Angeles.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: U.S. District Court Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Trump administration, Southern California businesses, and illegal immigrants.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The tentative order comes after a hearing on Thursday, July 10, in Los Angeles.
🎯IMPACT: The tentative order appears far-reaching and will effectively end most federal immigration enforcement actions across seven counties in southern California.
A radical, far-left federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden is set to impose an order that would bar the Trump administration from conducting most illegal immigration enforcement actions in Los Angeles and the surrounding area. U.S. District Court Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong has reportedly written a tentative order that would largely prevent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from conducting raids at L.A.-area Home Depots, car washes, warehouses, and other commercial facilities without demonstrating probable cause to do so.
The order stems from a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which contends that ICE is conducting what it characterizes as “deportation dragnets” in Los Angeles. According to the ACLU, the ICE raids are only predicated on the race and language of the targets, essentially constituting illegal profiling and discrimination. However, the Trump administration contends that the ICE raids are in accordance with federal law and are based on intelligence gathered by federal law enforcement, including the location of business establishments where illegal immigrants are known to have been hired.
Judge Frimpong’s order effectively restricts federal immigration officials from using race, the presence of Spanish speakers, and the type of business establishment to determine where to conduct raids. In addition, ICE agents will be barred from detaining suspected illegal immigrants unless they can show a reasonable cause of belief that an individual has broken U.S. immigration laws.
The ruling impacts the entire jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, which includes seven southern California counties.
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