U.S. court upholds order blocking indiscriminate targeting by immigration patrols
A U.S. appeals court has upheld an order blocking immigration agents from carrying out patrols in California that led to indiscriminate detentions without reasonable grounds to suspect people of being undocumented.
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The ruling late Friday by a three-judge panel denies the federal government's appeal to overturn a temporary July order to halt the 'roving patrols' in Los Angeles that immigration rights groups have described as illegally using racial profiling.
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District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong had ordered an end to the arrests, arguing such actions by agents violate a person's constitutional rights that safeguard against unreasonable seizures by the government.
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She said the detentions were being made 'based upon race alone,' on whether a person was speaking Spanish or English with an accent or because of their place of work, and ordered them stopped.
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Friday's ruling by the US court of appeals for the Ninth Circuit described the case of plaintiff Jason Gavidia, a U.S. citizen born and raised in East Los Angeles who was arrested outside a tow yard in Montebello on June 12 by agents carrying military-style rifles.
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'The agents repeatedly asked Gavidia whether he is American — and they repeatedly ignored his answer: 'I am an American,'' the ruling said.
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Agents asked what hospital he was born in, and Gavidia responded he did not know, but said he was born in 'East LA.'
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It said Gavidia told the agents he could show them his government-issued ID. 'The agents took Gavidia's ID and his phone and kept his phone for 20 minutes. They never returned his ID.'
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California residents and advocacy groups sued the Department of Homeland Security over the detentions.
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Los Angeles and surrounding suburbs have been ground zero for President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration crackdown.
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He ordered the U.S. military deployed there for weeks, and agents have rounded up migrants at car washes, bus stops, stores and farms.
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The ruling said the government's defense team argued that 'certain types of businesses, including car washes, were selected for encounters because… they are likely to employ persons without legal documentation.'
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