Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Federal judge signals a halt to indiscriminate immigration stops

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Introduction to the Ruling

A federal judge issued a tentative ruling on Thursday that suggests she will order the Trump administration to halt unlawful stops and arrests that advocates say have terrorized Angelenos, forced some immigrants into hiding and damaged the local economy. The ruling was not made public, but a final order is expected Friday on the case that has become a centerpiece in the battle over Trump’s mass deportation plan.

Background of the Case

The lawsuit filed by immigrant rights groups last week seeks to block federal agents from stopping and arresting brown-skinned people without probable cause and then placing them in “dungeon-like” conditions without access to lawyers. Ahead of an hours-long hearing in a downtown Los Angeles federal courthouse, Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong provided attorneys with a lengthy ruling based on earlier court filings in the case. Tentative rulings are not uncommon, and Frimpong said she was providing it to give both sides, “an understanding of how I see the case.”

Details of the Ruling

The ruling suggested Frimpong would grant two temporary restraining orders, one encompassing stops and arrests and the other to ensure detainees had access to legal counsel. “It is truly a tentative, it is not final,” Frimpong said, adding that things could change based on arguments she heard from attorneys Thursday afternoon. “My intention coming into this hearing, given the urgency and the weight of the matters at issue, is to issue my ruling tomorrow.”

The Lawsuit and Its Parties

The American Civil Liberties Union, Public Counsel, other groups and private attorneys brought the suit on behalf of several immigrant rights groups, three immigrants picked up at a bus stop and two U.S. citizens, one whom was held despite showing agents his identification. Throughout the hearing, Frimpong appeared to take issue with government lawyer Sean Skedzielewski and his lack of specific evidence to refute accusations of indiscriminate targeting.

Government’s Response

She pressed Skedzielewski on how agents were making arrests, after he argued that “these are sophisticated operations” and seemed to say that arrests stemmed from particular people who were being targeted. In other cases where local and federal law enforcement are targeting people for crimes, the judge pointed out, there are reports after an arrest “as to why they arrested this person, how they happened to be where they were and what they did.” Skedzielewski argued the lack of evidence is why the court should not grant a temporary restraining order.

Critique of Government’s Argument

Frimpong didn’t seem moved. The appointee of President Biden questioned the government’s reliance on two high-ranking officials who have played a key role in the raids in Southern California: Kyle Harvick, a Border Patrol agent in charge of El Centro, and Andre Quinones, deputy field office director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Their declarations, she said, were “very general” and “did not really engage with the pretty high volume of evidence that the plaintiffs have put in the record of the things we have all seen and heard on the news.”

Plaintiffs’ Argument

Mohammad Tajsar, an attorney with the ACLU of Southern California, told the judge that agents cannot solely use a person’s workplace, their location or the particular work they’re doing as reason to stop people. Tajsar added that it was because of the government’s “misunderstanding of the law” that they’d made so many stops of U.S. citizens, including Brian Gavidia, a named plaintiff who was detained by Border Patrol agents outside of a tow yard in Montebello.

Support from Local Authorities

This week the city and county of Los Angeles — along with Pasadena, Montebello, Monterey Park, Santa Monica, Culver City, Pico Rivera and West Hollywood — sought to join the suit. In their court filing, the cities and the county countered the raids haven’t actually been about immigration enforcement, but instead are politically driven “to make an example” of the region for “implementing policies that President Donald J. Trump dislikes.”

Conclusion

The tentative ruling by Judge Frimpong signals a potential halt to the indiscriminate immigration stops that have been terrorizing communities in Los Angeles. The ruling, if finalized, would grant two temporary restraining orders, ensuring that federal agents cannot stop and arrest individuals without probable cause and that detainees have access to legal counsel. This development is a significant step in the battle against Trump’s mass deportation plan and its impact on immigrant communities.

FAQs

  1. What is the nature of the lawsuit filed against the Trump administration?
    The lawsuit seeks to block federal agents from stopping and arresting brown-skinned people without probable cause and then placing them in “dungeon-like” conditions without access to lawyers.
  2. What are the temporary restraining orders that Judge Frimpong is considering?
    The two temporary restraining orders would prevent federal agents from making stops and arrests without probable cause and ensure that detainees have access to legal counsel.
  3. How have the raids affected the local community?
    The raids have paralyzed parts of the city, particularly areas with high numbers of immigrant workers, such as the Flower District downtown, and have forced some immigrants into hiding, damaging the local economy.
  4. What is the government’s argument in response to the lawsuit?
    The government argues that the detentions are legal and that any injunction could not be applied broadly, as it would severely infringe on the President’s Article II authority.
  5. How many undocumented individuals have been arrested since the operation began?
    According to data released by DHS, nearly 2,700 undocumented individuals have been arrested since the operation began on June 6.
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