Federal Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order Against ICE’s LA Enforcement Sweep
Court Finds Arrests Lacked Probable Cause, Orders Halt to Unconstitutional Practices
In a significant ruling today, U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong granted temporary restraining orders in Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem, blocking DHS and ICE from continuing certain practices in their large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Los Angeles and surrounding areas. The case, filed June 20, 2025, by detained individuals like Pedro Vasquez Perdomo, Carlos Alexander Osorto, and Isaac Villegas Molina—alongside organizations including the Immigrant Defenders Law Center and United Farm Workers—challenged arrests starting June 6 under a reported 3,000-daily quota imposed by the Trump administration.
Plaintiffs argued that agents targeted people based on perceived Latino ethnicity, accents, or occupations like day laboring at Home Depot sites, conducting suspicionless stops, warrantless raids, and unlawful detentions in substandard conditions at a federal building basement known as B-18. These tactics, they claimed, violated the Fourth Amendment by lacking reasonable suspicion or probable cause, often relying on racial profiling rather than evidence of immigration violations.
The court agreed, finding merit in the claims after reviewing declarations from arrestees and ICE insiders. Judge Frimpong noted that while immigration enforcement is vital for border security and public order, it must adhere strictly to constitutional limits to avoid eroding civil liberties that protect all residents. She highlighted instances where agents stopped individuals solely for “looking Mexican” or speaking Spanish, deeming such factors insufficient for seizures.
Effective immediately, the orders prohibit DHS and ICE from making arrests without probable cause, using race or ethnicity as proxies, or detaining people in unconstitutional facilities without prompt access to counsel. They also bar out-of-district transfers without notice or hearings, addressing complaints of disrupted legal proceedings and family separations. Defendants, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Todd M. Lyons, must comply pending hearings on preliminary injunctions.
Read the full order: HERE