Judge Frimpong slams ICE for racial profiling and denies legal access during the immigration raids
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s immigration raids in Los Angeles, calling the aggressive tactics unconstitutional and indiscriminate. The ruling came after weeks of escalating enforcement, which triggered mass protests and widespread outrage.
Judge Maame E. Frimpong of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued two restraining orders on Friday. She ordered federal agents to stop racial profiling and mandated legal access for detainees following claims that immigrants had been rounded up without cause and denied lawyers.
The judge sharply criticised the government’s conduct, writing:
“What the federal government would have this Court believe — in the face of a mountain of evidence — is that none of this is actually happening.”
She described “roving patrols” and warrantless arrests as a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment, while denying access to legal counsel breached the Fifth Amendment.
The lawsuit, filed last week by ACLU Southern California and Public Counsel, paints a grim picture: armed federal agents in unmarked vehicles, rounding up Latino workers in tow yards, restaurant kitchens, and parking lots. Many of the encounters were caught on video, sparking national outcry.
During a court hearing on Thursday, Judge Frimpong was openly sceptical of the government’s claims that agents were operating within legal bounds.
“The arguments were very general,” she said, adding that they failed to address “the high volume of evidence” put forth by plaintiffs — much of it already seen by the public through news coverage.
The ruling is a 10-day restraining order for now, but immigrant advocates are pushing for a preliminary injunction that could halt the tactics indefinitely.
This case could carry national implications, especially given that Los Angeles — with its 30% Latino population and the country’s largest undocumented community — has become ground zero for Trump’s push to ramp up mass deportations.
The immigration crackdown in Southern California has extended beyond ICE. The Border Patrol, FBI, and DEA have also been drafted into the dragnet. Critics say the move amounts to a militarised occupation of a major American city.
Mark Rosenbaum, a lawyer for Public Counsel, said the ruling was a lifeline for innocent people being targeted:
“There is something very wrong when the federal government goes to war against an American city and ignores the Constitution. Hopefully this ends the actions of rounding up carwash workers like domestic terrorists.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass welcomed the ruling as a return to “American values and decency.”
The Justice Department defended the raids. Government attorney Sean Skedziewelski claimed agents could not “put blinders on” if they encountered undocumented immigrants not originally targeted during the raids.
But Judge Frimpong rejected that defence, calling it inadequate and detached from reality.
The legal challenge reflects growing resistance in blue states to Trump’s hardline immigration agenda. In Los Angeles, where the memory of prior ICE raids still lingers, the latest operation reignited fears — but now, thanks to the federal bench, it’s also triggered a rare legal check on federal power.
A fuller court hearing is expected in the coming weeks, where immigration groups will argue for a more permanent ruling to safeguard constitutional protections for immigrants and residents alike.
