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The Mainichi
13-07-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Judge orders Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops, arrests in California
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties, including Los Angeles. Immigrant advocacy groups filed the lawsuit last week accusing President Donald Trump's administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned people in Southern California during its ongoing immigration crackdown. The plaintiffs include three detained immigrants and two U.S. citizens, one of whom was held despite showing agents his identification. The filing in U.S. District Court asked a judge to block the administration from using what they call unconstitutional tactics in immigration raids. Immigrant advocates accuse immigration officials of detaining someone based on their race, carrying out warrantless arrests, and denying detainees access to legal counsel at a holding facility in downtown LA. Judge Maame E. Frimpong also issued a separate order barring the federal government from restricting attorney access at a Los Angeles immigration detention facility in response to a request from nonprofit law firm Public Counsel. Frimpong issued the emergency orders, which are a temporary measure while the lawsuit proceeds, the day after a hearing during which advocacy groups argued that the government was violating the Fourth and Fifth amendments of the Constitution. She wrote in the order there was a "mountain of evidence" presented in the case that the federal government was committing the violations they were being accused of. The White House responded quickly to the ruling late Friday. "No federal judge has the authority to dictate immigration policy -- that authority rests with Congress and the President," spokesperson Abigail Jackson said. "Enforcement operations require careful planning and execution; skills far beyond the purview (or) jurisdiction of any judge. We expect this gross overstep of judicial authority to be corrected on appeal." Communities on edge as administration steps up arrests Immigrants and Latino communities across Southern California have been on edge for weeks since the Trump administration stepped up arrests at car washes, Home Depot parking lots, immigration courts and a range of businesses. Tens of thousands of people have participated in rallies in the region over the raids and the subsequent deployment of the National Guard and Marines. The order also applies to Ventura County, where busloads of workers were detained Thursday while the court hearing was underway after federal agents descended on a cannabis farm, leading to clashes with protesters and multiple injuries. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the recent wave of immigration enforcement has been driven by an "arbitrary arrest quota" and based on "broad stereotypes based on race or ethnicity." When detaining the three day laborers who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, all immigration agents knew about them is that they were Latino and were dressed in construction work clothes, the filing in the lawsuit said. It goes on to describe raids at swap meets and Home Depots where witnesses say federal agents grabbed anyone who "looked Hispanic." Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said in an email that "any claims that individuals have been 'targeted' by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically FALSE." McLaughlin said "enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence" before making arrests. After the ruling, she said "a district judge is undermining the will of the American people." ACLU attorney Mohammad Tajsar said Brian Gavidia, one of the U.S. citizens who was detained, was "physically assaulted ... for no other reason than he was Latino and working at a tow yard in a predominantly Latin American neighborhood." Tajsar asked why immigration agents detained everyone at a car wash except two white workers, according to a declaration by a car wash worker, if race wasn't involved. Representing the government, attorney Sean Skedzielewski said there was no evidence that federal immigration agents considered race in their arrests, and that they only considered appearance as part of the "totality of the circumstances", including prior surveillance and interactions with people in the field. In some cases, they also operated off "targeted, individualized packages," he said. "The Department of Homeland Security has policy and training to ensure compliance with the Fourth Amendment," Skedzielewski said. Order opens facility to lawyer visits Lawyers from Immigrant Defenders Law Center and other groups say they also have been denied access to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in downtown LA known as "B-18" on several occasions since June, according to court documents. Public Counsel lawyer Mark Rosenbaum said in one incident on June 7 attorneys "attempted to shout out basic rights" at a bus of people detained by immigration agents in downtown LA when the government drivers honked their horns to drown them out and chemical munitions akin to tear gas were deployed. Skedzielewski said access was only restricted to "protect the employees and the detainees" during violent protests and it has since been restored. Rosenbaum said lawyers were denied access even on days without any demonstrations nearby, and that the people detained are also not given sufficient access to phones or informed that lawyers were available to them. He said the facility lacks adequate food and beds, which he called "coercive" to getting people to sign papers to agree to leave the country before consulting an attorney. Friday's order will temporarily prevent the government from solely using apparent race or ethnicity, speaking Spanish or English with an accent, presence at a location such as a tow yard or car wash, or someone's occupation as the basis for reasonable suspicion to stop someone. It will also require officials to open B-18 to visitation by attorneys seven days a week and provide detainees access to confidential phone calls with attorneys. Attorneys general for 18 Democratic states also filed briefs in support of the orders. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents were already barred from making warrantless arrests in a large swath of eastern California after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in April.
Mint
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Judge Blocks ICE From Racial Profiling in LA Migrant Sweeps
(Bloomberg) -- A federal judge in Los Angeles issued an order temporarily blocking US authorities from using racial or ethnic profiling during immigration sweeps in the region and requiring that detainees get access to lawyers. The order Friday by US District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong is the latest fallout from the Trump administration's controversial crackdown on migrants in California and across the US. It came in a lawsuit by a group of Southern California residents, workers and advocacy groups who accused President Donald Trump's administration of terrorizing the population with heavy handed and unconstitutional tactics. 'Today's historic ruling means the federal government cannot fence off the Constitution from Los Angeles and surrounding communities,' said Mark Rosenbaum, a senior lawyer at Public Counsel, which represents the plaintiffs. 'The question now for our federal government is whether it is prepared to conduct its operations under the rule of law. To date, the answer has been no.' The judge said she will hold a hearing later on the groups' request for a longer-lasting preliminary injunction that would block the alleged conduct while the lawsuit proceeds, which could take months or longer. The judge barred agents in the Los Angeles area from stopping and questioning individuals without reasonable suspicion that they're in the US illegally. The order forbids the agents from basing their suspicion on race, ethnicity, speaking Spanish, speaking English with an accent, the type of the work they do or where they are located. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said 'a district judge is undermining the will of the American people.' 'America's brave men and women are removing murderers, MS-13 gang members, pedophiles, rapists — truly the worst of the worst — from Golden State communities,' she said in an emailed statement. 'Law and order will prevail.' The government didn't provide evidence in the case that the people being detained in the area had committed such crimes. The order by Frimpong, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, is a rebuke to the administration's raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in public spaces to make mass arrests. It comes as a wide swath of the most populous state's Democratic elected officials, from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to Governor Gavin Newsom, have slammed the Trump administration over its alleged conduct. The disputed tactics include using National Guard troops to protect ICE agents during immigration sweeps and deploying US Marines in downtown Los Angeles to help quell protests, both of which triggered separate lawsuits. But the targeting of suspected migrants by masked and armed immigration agents has been a focal point of Democratic criticism. 'Armed to the hilt, masked, and driving unmarked cars, they have adopted a central strategy of grabbing people first and asking questions later,' the groups said in their request for a restraining order. Trump has argued that his tactics are in line with the president's constitutional authority to carry out immigration policy and that voters elected him to follow through on his vow to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. Trump has frequently portrayed migrants as criminals who pose a threat to Americans, but court records show many law-abiding noncitizens have been swept up across the country. The groups that sued in Los Angeles, the second-largest US metropolitan area and a focal point of Trump's effort, argued in court filings that federal immigration agents are violating the Constitution by conducting stops 'without reasonable suspicion' that the individuals were in the US illegally. The agents are trying to meet 'an arbitrary quota for 3,000 daily arrests imposed by the White House,' the groups said. 'But while defendants may believe that immigration enforcement can be a numbers game, the Fourth Amendment requires that seizures be reasonable,' they said in a filing. The filings cite detailed examples of alleged wrongdoing by federal agents, including a man who says he was 'grabbed' at a car wash and interrogated by agents who knew 'nothing more at the time than that he had brown skin and was present at the car wash.' Another man, a plaintiff in the suit, was detained at a tow yard where he was working on his car. 'He told them he was American, but they violently persisted in their questioning, demanding that he tell him what hospital he was born in, and only let him go after he showed them his Real ID, for which they had not even asked,' according to the filing. The plaintiffs argue that 'roving patrols' targeting day laborers, street vendors, farm workers and other were 'expressly directed' by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who told high level officials at ICE to 'just go out there and arrest' unauthorized noncitizens by rounding them up in public spaces like 'Home Depot' and '7-Eleven' stores, according to court filings. The groups allege that similar racial profiling has been underway at raids in agricultural sites, bus stops, packing houses and churches. Newsom praised Friday's ruling, saying 'justice prevailed,' while Bass said it affirms 'the Constitution, American values and decency.' --With assistance from Robert Burnson and Anthony Aarons. (Updates with comments by plaintiffs starting in third paragraph) More stories like this are available on
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First Post
12-07-2025
- Politics
- First Post
US federal court blocks indiscriminate immigration arrests in 7 California counties
Immigrant advocacy organisations filed the lawsuit last week, accusing President Donald Trump's government of purposefully targeting brown individuals in Southern California as part of its continuing immigration crackdown read more People wait outside of Glass House Farms, a day after an immigration raid on the facility, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Camarillo, Calif. AP On Friday, a federal court ordered the Trump administration to suspend indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties, including Los Angeles. Immigrant advocacy organisations filed the lawsuit last week, accusing President Donald Trump's government of purposefully targeting brown individuals in Southern California as part of its continuing immigration crackdown. The claimants include three detained immigrants and two US citizens, one of whom was arrested despite giving agents his ID. The lawsuit filed in US District Court asked a judge to prevent the government from using what they describe unconstitutional techniques in immigration sweeps. Immigrant groups accuse immigration officers of detaining people based on their race, making unwarranted arrests, and refusing prisoners access to legal representation at a holding facility in downtown Los Angeles. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Judge Maame E. Frimpong also issued a separate order barring the federal government from restricting attorney access at a Los Angeles immigration detention facility in response to a request from nonprofit law firm Public Counsel. Frimpong issued the emergency orders, which are a temporary measure while the lawsuit proceeds, the day after a hearing during which advocacy groups argued that the government was violating the Fourth and Fifth amendments of the Constitution. She wrote in the order there was a 'mountain of evidence' presented in the case that the federal government was committing the violations they were being accused of. The White House responded quickly to the ruling late Friday. 'No federal judge has the authority to dictate immigration policy — that authority rests with Congress and the President,' spokesperson Abigail Jackson said. 'Enforcement operations require careful planning and execution; skills far beyond the purview (or) jurisdiction of any judge. We expect this gross overstep of judicial authority to be corrected on appeal.' Communities on edge as administration steps up arrests Immigrants and Latino communities across Southern California have been on edge for weeks since the Trump administration stepped up arrests at car washes, Home Depot parking lots, immigration courts and a range of businesses. Tens of thousands of people have participated in rallies in the region over the raids and the subsequent deployment of the National Guard and Marines. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The order also applies to Ventura County, where busloads of workers were detained Thursday while the court hearing was underway after federal agents descended on a cannabis farm, leading to clashes with protesters and multiple injuries. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the recent wave of immigration enforcement has been driven by an 'arbitrary arrest quota' and based on 'broad stereotypes based on race or ethnicity.' When detaining the three day laborers who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, all immigration agents knew about them is that they were Latino and were dressed in construction work clothes, the filing in the lawsuit said. It goes on to describe raids at swap meets and Home Depots where witnesses say federal agents grabbed anyone who 'looked Hispanic.' Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, said in an email that 'any claims that individuals have been 'targeted' by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically FALSE.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD McLaughlin said 'enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence' before making arrests. After the ruling, she said 'a district judge is undermining the will of the American people.' ACLU attorney Mohammad Tajsar said Brian Gavidia, one of the US citizens who was detained, was 'physically assaulted … for no other reason than he was Latino and working at a tow yard in a predominantly Latin American neighborhood.' Tajsar asked why immigration agents detained everyone at a car wash except two white workers, according to a declaration by a car wash worker, if race wasn't involved. Representing the government, attorney Sean Skedzielewski said there was no evidence that federal immigration agents considered race in their arrests, and that they only considered appearance as part of the 'totality of the circumstances', including prior surveillance and interactions with people in the field. In some cases, they also operated off 'targeted, individualized packages,' he said. 'The Department of Homeland Security has policy and training to ensure compliance with the Fourth Amendment,' Skedzielewski said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Order opens facility to lawyer visits Lawyers from Immigrant Defenders Law Center and other groups say they also have been denied access to a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in downtown LA known as 'B-18' on several occasions since June, according to court documents. Public Counsel lawyer Mark Rosenbaum said in one incident on June 7 attorneys 'attempted to shout out basic rights' at a bus of people detained by immigration agents in downtown LA when the government drivers honked their horns to drown them out and chemical munitions akin to tear gas were deployed. Skedzielewski said access was only restricted to 'protect the employees and the detainees' during violent protests and it has since been restored. Rosenbaum said lawyers were denied access even on days without any demonstrations nearby, and that the people detained are also not given sufficient access to phones or informed that lawyers were available to them. He said the facility lacks adequate food and beds, which he called 'coercive' to getting people to sign papers to agree to leave the country before consulting an attorney. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Friday's order will temporarily prevent the government from solely using apparent race or ethnicity, speaking Spanish or English with an accent, presence at a location such as a tow yard or car wash, or someone's occupation as the basis for reasonable suspicion to stop someone. It will also require officials to open B-18 to visitation by attorneys seven days a week and provide detainees access to confidential phone calls with attorneys. Attorneys general for 18 Democratic states also filed briefs in support of the orders. US Customs and Border Protection agents were already barred from making warrantless arrests in a large swath of eastern California after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in April.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Diego Luna slams Trump's immigration policies while guest hosting for Kimmel
Andor star Diego Luna is guest hosting for Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week, and his first show started with one hell of a speech. During the powerful 12-minute monologue above, the Mexican actor discusses Donald Trump's immigration policies, and the state of fear that many immigrants in the U.S. are living in as a result. "I have never been able to fully understand how it is that someone like Donald Trump is able to acquire this level of power. I always struggle to understand how his hate speech can take root in a country whose nature has always been a welcoming one," says Luna. "Today, many people are feeling persecuted. Far too many people live in fear. Fear of taking their kids to school, or going to places where they earn an honest living. These people, they're your neighbors, your friends, immigrants. This is very unfair, and let me tell you why: The multiple times that this country has had to rebuilt itself, immigrants were always there to pick up the slack." Luna finishes by encouraging people watching to call their representatives, and to support legal advocacy organisations like Public Counsel and Kids In Need of Defense (KIND).
Daily Mail
04-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Trump admin's show of mercy for adorable Mexican migrant girl receiving life-saving care in California
Donald Trump 's Department of Homeland Security granted an adorable Mexican migrant girl, 4, humanitarian parole so she could continue to receive life-saving care in California. The department has cracked down on undocumented migration and dismantled a Biden-era policy that allowed migrants to request humanitarian parole on a mobile app. Deysi Vargas and her daughter, who was identified only by her initials, received legal immigration status in 2023 so that the girl could receive care for short bowel syndrome. The family's attorneys at Public Counsel said in a statement that they received parole on June 2 and will expire in one year. 'While we celebrate this victory, we cannot ignore the systemic challenges that brought Sofia to the brink,' the family's attorneys said in a statement, referring to the girl using a pseudonym. 'Her parole was terminated without warning, and for weeks there was no functional avenue to alert USCIS that a child's life was in danger. It took an international outcry and pressure from elected officials to get a response—something that used to take a single phone call.' The statement added that there are many stories similar to the girl, 'but the danger they face is every bit as real' and that the immigration system 'must protect everyone facing life-threatening harm.' Vargas' daughter, who was identified by the initials, SGV, receives daily treatment to get her nutrition using a portable backpack. She receives her care through a process called Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN), which feeds her using an IV. Only a few countries including the US can administer the treatment and the equipment cannot travel outside of the country. The family flew into a panic in April when they received a letter from DHS notifying them that their parole had been revoked, according to Vargas' attorneys at Public Counsel. Brown said in a statement at the time that SGV was receiving specialized care at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. 'To suddenly yank away that welcome mat, take away her life-saving medical care, and force her back to a place where she could die within days is a cruel betrayal of our nation's word and an affront to our shared humanity,' Brown continued. Vargas shared her story at a news conference in May, telling reporters, 'If they deport us and take away my daughter's access to her specialized care, she will die.' 'Now, with the help my daughter receives in the United States, my daughter has the opportunity to leave the hospital, see the world, and live like a child her age,' she added. The family's attorneys said their humanitarian parole was set to expire at the end of July but Vargas had been working to get it extended. Public Counsel said in a statement to the Associated Press that while they were grateful the family received humanitarian parole, the case demonstrated a lack of communication with officials. 'We cannot ignore the systemic challenges that brought Sofia to the brink,' the statement read, referring to the girl as 'Sofia' using a pseudonym. 'Her parole was terminated without warning ... It took an international outcry and pressure from elected officials to get a response—something that used to take a single phone call.' SGV requires the treatment with her for 14 hours a day, but can leave the hospital with the backpack. The girl's physician, Dr. John Arsenault, who sees her every six weeks wrote a letter obtained by the Los Angeles Times that said SGV's condition could be fatal 'within a matter of days' if she lost her treatment. 'As such, patients on home TPN are not allowed to leave the country because the infrastructure to provide TPN or provide immediate intervention if there is a problem with IV access depends on our program's utilization of U.S.-based healthcare resources and does not transfer across borders,' Arsenault added. While she was in Mexico, SGV experienced repeated blood infections and underwent six surgeries. The family can stay in the country on humanitarian parole until June 2. reached out to DHS for additional information but didn't immediately hear back.
