A federal judge issued a sweeping order Friday halting the Trump administration’s immigration arrests in Southern California that were being carried out without probable cause, ruling that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had violated constitutional protections by targeting individuals based on race, language, or occupation.
U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, appointed by former President Joe Biden, barred DHS from detaining people solely because of their ethnicity, accent, or presence in certain public places like bus stops or workplaces. Her ruling also mandates new guidelines for DHS officers to determine “reasonable suspicion” based on objective evidence.
The order, which applies to the seven counties within the U.S. Central District of California — including Los Angeles — is a direct response to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Southern California on behalf of five plaintiffs and several immigrant rights groups. The plaintiffs alleged DHS was conducting illegal arrests and denying detainees access to attorneys.
“This Court decides—based on all the evidence presented—that they are,” Frimpong wrote, finding that the Trump administration was indeed conducting roving patrols without legal justification and failing to document the reasons for its arrests.
The ruling also temporarily restrains not just DHS, but the FBI and Justice Department — both involved in recent enforcement operations — from carrying out similar practices in the region. Frimpong ordered federal agencies to begin logging all immigration-related arrests and to regularly share that information with plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Raids Draw Legal and Political Fire
The ruling follows a wave of immigration raids across Southern California in recent weeks, including a high-profile ICE operation at a cannabis farm in Camarillo that led to mass detentions and street protests. DHS had claimed the arrests were based on “intelligence and trend analysis,” but during a hearing Thursday, Judge Frimpong pressed the government to show specific evidence.
“It’s hard for the court to believe you couldn’t find one case with a report of why someone was targeted,” she said, expressing skepticism that arrests weren’t based on profiling.
In a related move, Frimpong also issued a restraining order blocking DHS from denying detainees access to legal counsel in a downtown Los Angeles holding facility known as “B-18.” Advocacy groups said detainees in B-18 were denied basic rights — including the ability to contact lawyers — and were held in unsanitary conditions without access to beds, showers, or medical care.
DHS, Trump Officials Push Back
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin blasted the decision as judicial overreach: “A district judge is undermining the will of the American people,” she said in a statement.
Since retaking office, President Donald Trump has prioritized aggressive immigration enforcement. In recent weeks, his administration has called for ICE to intensify deportation operations in Democratic-led cities, including Los Angeles. Thousands of National Guard troops were deployed to the region last month to reinforce raids amid widespread protests.
The administration has also sued the city of Los Angeles over its “sanctuary city” policy, accusing it of obstructing federal immigration enforcement.
California Officials Applaud Ruling
California Gov. Gavin Newsom welcomed the court’s decision, writing on X: “California stands with the law and the Constitution — and I call on the Trump Administration to do the same.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also praised the ruling, calling it “an important step toward restoring safety, security, and defending the rights of all Angelenos.”
ACLU senior attorney Mohammad Tajsar said the judge’s order reaffirms the core protections of the Constitution: “No matter the color of their skin, what language they speak, or where they work, everyone is guaranteed rights that protect them from unlawful stops.”
The temporary restraining order marks a rare judicial rebuke of Trump’s immigration crackdown — and sets the stage for a legal battle over how far the federal government can go in pursuing mass deportations inside the United States.
