The US Supreme Court has ruled that sweeping immigration raids in Los Angeles can continue for now, lifting a federal judge's order which had barred agents from making stops without 'reasonable suspicion'.
The Monday ruling is a win for President Donald Trump, who has pledged to conduct record-level deportations of migrants in the country illegally.
The 6-3 decision from the conservative-majority court allows agents to stop suspects based solely on their race, language, or job, while a legal challenge to the recent immigration sweeps in LA proceeds through the courts.
The ruling sparked dissent from liberal justices who warned that the decision jeopardizes constitutional freedoms.
Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh stated that the lower court's order overly restricted how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents could execute stops or questioning of suspected unlawful migrants. He noted, 'To be clear, apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion; however, it can be a 'relevant factor' when considered along with other salient factors.'
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, representing the dissenting opinion, condemned the ruling, highlighting the violation of basic human dignity faced by individuals targeted for their race or appearance. She said, 'Today, the Court needlessly subjects countless more to these exact same indignities.'
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass criticized the decision, calling it 'dangerous and un-American', arguing that it undermines personal freedoms in the United States.
The Supreme Court's decision comes as the Trump administration seeks to intensify its law enforcement actions across various cities, having already deployed National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., to tackle what Trump claims is a rising crime problem.
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