California Democratic lawmakers criticized the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday to allow federal immigration agents to stop and detain anyone they suspect of being in the United States illegally — a move critics are calling “blatant racial profiling.”
In a 6-3 vote, the justices granted an emergency appeal and lifted a Los Angeles judge’s order that prohibited so-called “roving patrols” from picking up people off the streets based on how they look, the language they speak, where they work, or where they happen to be at the time.
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The Supreme Court’s split came on ideological lines, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh writing in favor of the ruling.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), along with state Attorney General Rob Bonta, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and several members of the state legislature, blasted the decision.
“Trump’s hand-picked Supreme Court majority just became the Grand Marshal for a parade of racial terror in Los Angeles,” Newsom said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “This isn’t about enforcing immigration laws — it’s about targeting Latinos and anyone who doesn’t look or sound like Stephen Miller’s idea of an American, including U.S. citizens and children, to deliberately harm California’s families and small businesses.”
Newsom added that Trump’s “private police force” now has a “green light” not only to come after California families but also small businesses.
“Every person is now a target,” he said.
Bonta called Kavanaugh’s decision “disturbing” and “troubling.”
Bass also pushed back on the Supreme Court decision.
“I want the entire nation to hear me when I say this isn’t just an attack on the people of Los Angeles, this is an attack on every person in every city in this country,” she said. “Today’s ruling is not only dangerous — it’s un-American and threatens the fabric of personal freedom in the United States of America.”
California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas vowed to “fight back with everything we’ve got.”
“We’ve already passed laws to prevent raids in our schools and hospitals, and I will always stand with immigrant communities, workers, and families,” he said. “The only way we stop Trump is by standing together.”
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Latino Caucus Vice Chairwoman Liz Ortega said the high court’s ruling made it legal for “masked men to snatch innocent people off the street.”
“Moms and dads on their way to work end up losing their children,” she said. “Trump’s war on immigrants was never about safety — it was always about racism and intimidating workers.”
The court’s 10-page order did not indicate whether the ruling was limited to the Los Angeles area, where the Trump administration argued illegal immigration was most pronounced. The ruling is expected to have a profound effect on the administration’s march to deport illegal immigrants.
The high court’s three liberal members dissented.
“We should not have to live in a country where the government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish and appears to work a low wage job,” wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
“Rather than stand idly by while our constitutional freedoms are lost,” Sotomayor added, “I dissent.”
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U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the “massive victory” on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket in a social media post.
“In a 6-3 decision, the Court stayed an injunction that attempted to hamper ICE operations across the Los Angeles area,” Bondi wrote. “Now, ICE can continue carrying out roving patrols in California without judicial micromanagement. We will continue fighting and winning for [President Donald Trump’s] agenda in court.”