Image Credit: Carlin Stiehl / Contributor / Getty Images 
The Trump administration will be unable to make mass arrests in seven California counties, including Los Angeles, after a new ruling by a Biden-appointed judge.
US District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were unlawfully targeting individuals for arrest “without reasonable suspicion” they were in the US illegally.
“The factors that defendants appear to rely on for reasonable suspicion seem no more indicative of illegal presence in the country than of legal presence — such as working at low-wage occupations such as car wash attendants and day laborers,” Frimpong wrote in her ruling.
“That is insufficient and impermissible.”
Judge Frimpong said agents had detained individuals on the basis of their location, job, apparent race and whether they spoke Spanish with an accent or not.
The Judge’s ruling allows ICE agents to continue enforcement, but they may not rely solely on these factors to make an arrest.
“As required by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, Defendants are enjoined from conducting detentive stops in this District unless the agent or officer has reasonable suspicion that the person to be stopped is within the United States in violation of US immigration law,” she wrote.
The Trump administration has strongly denied the accusations made in the ruling, which was part of a lawsuit brought by immigrant-advocacy groups.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told AP “any claims that individuals have been ‘targeted’ by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically FALSE.”
“Enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence” before making arrests, she added.
The order applies to Ventura County, among others, where over 200 migrant workers, including minors, were arrested at a cannabis farm.
