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A federal appeals court has upheld restrictions on the scope of immigration enforcement in Los Angeles.
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected an emergency motion from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to stay a temporary restraining order that barred immigration agents from carrying out stops and arrests without probable cause.
The restraining order was issued by Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong in response to a suit brought by immigrant-advocacy groups. It prohibits DHS from detaining individuals simply on the basis of race, spoken language or accent, occupation or presence in particular locations like bus stops.
In response to Frimpong’s ruling, the White House said the judge lacks the authority to decide immigration policy.
“No federal judge has the authority to dictate immigration policy—that authority rests with Congress and the president.”
The appeal court upheld Frimpong’s ruling, but noted that the order’s clause that prohibits federal agents from carrying out stops based on certain factors “except as permitted by law,” was vague.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass welcomed the appeals court’s ruling.
“The temporary restraining order to stop unconstitutional and reckless raids has been upheld. This is a victory for Los Angeles—I will ALWAYS fight for our city,” Bass stated on X.
Mohammad Tajsar, an attorney at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, which represents the plaintiffs, said the ruling confirmed the federal immigration operations “violated the Constitution and caused irreparable injury across the region.”
A coordinated immigration crackdown in June across the city of Los Angeles and neighbouring counties resulted in hundreds of detentions and also sparked protests and rioting. President Trump commandeered state National Guard and deployed them to the city with US Marines to protect detention facilities and restore order.
The Trump-appointed US attorney for the Central District of California promised that hundreds would be arrested for their role in the unrest.
