October 1, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for federal agents to conduct sweeping immigration operations for now in Los Angeles, the latest victory for President Donald Trump's administration at the high court.
The conservative majority lifted a restraining order that had barred immigration agents from stopping people solely based on their race, language, job, or location.
The majority did not explain its reasoning, as is typical on the court's emergency docket. But Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the lower-court judge had gone too far in restricting how Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents can carry out brief stops for questioning. "The prospect of such after-the-fact judicial second-guessing and contempt proceedings will inevitably chill lawful immigration enforcement efforts," he wrote in a concurrence.
Kavanaugh suggested that stops in which agents use force could yet face legal challenges.
The Supreme Court’s decision comes as ICE agents also step up enforcement in Washington as part of Trump’s unprecedented federal takeover of the capital city’s law enforcement and deployment of the National Guard.
The lawsuit will now continue to unfold in California, with a hearing set for Sept. 24. It was filed by immigrant advocacy groups that accused the Trump administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned people during his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration in the Los Angeles area.
U.S. District Judge Maame E. Frimpong in Los Angeles had found a “mountain of evidence” that enforcement tactics were violating the Constitution. The plaintiffs included U.S. citizens swept up in immigration stops. An appeals court had left Frimpong’s ruling in place.
Federal attorneys have said immigration officers target people based on illegal presence in the U.S., not skin color, race, or ethnicity. Even so, the Justice Department argued that ICE agents can use at least some of those factors in combination with others, and Kavanaugh said apparent ethnicity could be a relevant factor for a stop.
The Department of Homeland Security said last week that authorities had made 5,210 immigration arrests since June 6 and praised the work of its lead commander there, Gregory Bovino, whose “success in getting the worst of the worst out of the Los Angeles region speaks for itself.”
The agency promised in an online post to “continue to FLOOD THE ZONE in Los Angeles” after the high court's decision.
The region has been a top priority for the Trump administration, and its hard-line immigration strategy has spurred protests and the deployment of the National Guard and the Marines.
Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the Supreme Court decision as a “massive victory” in a social media post. “Now, ICE can continue carrying out roving patrols in California without judicial micromanagement,” she wrote.
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