The Supreme Court lifted restrictions that had banned the Trump administration from carrying out immigration raids in the Los Angeles area based on criteria such as speaking with an accent, speaking Spanish, or gathering in areas where certain people congregate, according to Politico.
This ruling comes just on the heels of a previous ruling, earlier in the summer, where a judge placed a temporary ban on ICE raids in the Los Angeles area based on arbitrary criteria. That stemmed from a case filed by the ACLU accusing immigration officials of using unconstitutional tactics in raids across the country. Again, that’s racial profiling, excessive force, and denying detainees access to legal counsel.
That victory was short-lived because the Trump administration appealed. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court lifted that ban and said that ICE can racially profile people and violate the Civil Rights that have been eroded over the past few decades. Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, slammed the decision as “un-American” and “dangerous” via xadding that the ruling “Threatens the fabric of personal freedom in the U.S.” SCOTUS has garnered criticism from other LA figures as well because this doesn’t make sense.
The same SCOTUS that ruled you couldn’t use race to determine college admissions because there was no need for it has stated you could use race to target people indiscriminately. “How they prevent the use of race to tackle discrimination, but allow the use of race to discriminate potentially is disturbing, and it’s troubling,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta told ABC News.
This news comes as Trump has deployed ICE to major American cities and continues to declare war on imaginary crime rates. The ACLU posted a statement on Threadssaying the fight isn’t over.
“Yesterday’s Supreme Court decision endangers our communities and subjects people to immigration stops simply because of the color of their skin, occupation or the language they speak,” the post said. “This fight isn’t over. Our right to live free from racial profiling is fundamental.”
Hopefully, local elected officials and citizens will step up to protect citizens. It’s also important to note that, according to the ACLU, citizens have a First Amendment right to record ICE officers and law enforcement in public.
