Supreme Court Grants Trump Admin's Emergency Request, Lifts Biden Judge's Limits on ICE Patrols in LA

President Donald Trump scored another decisive victory at the Supreme Court on Monday, as the justices cleared the way for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to resume full-scale operations in Southern California without a Biden-appointed judge tying their hands.

In a 6–3 decision, the Court lifted a restraining order issued by U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, who had sought to block ICE from detaining suspected illegal immigrants on “reasonable suspicion.” Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, explained that the decision was rooted in both constitutional precedent and common sense, despite fiery objections from the Court’s liberal wing.

Joining Kavanaugh were Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. The three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson — dissented.

In her dissent, Justice Sotomayor claimed:

“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… Rather than stand idly by while our constitutional freedoms are lost, I dissent.”

But Kavanaugh dismantled the argument, noting that ICE officers rely on “reasonable suspicion,” a lower standard than probable cause, but one backed by established law.

“Here, those circumstances include: that there is an extremely high number and percentage of illegal immigrants in the Los Angeles area; that those individuals tend to gather in certain locations to seek daily work; that those individuals often work in certain kinds of jobs, such as day labor, landscaping, agriculture, and construction… and that many… do not speak much English,” Kavanaugh wrote.

He emphasized that reasonable suspicion only allows officers to briefly stop and question individuals. If they prove to be citizens or legal residents, they are free to go. If they are illegal, ICE proceeds with the proper enforcement process.

In other words: ICE is simply targeting the areas where illegal aliens are most likely to be found — a strategy grounded in logic and law, not discrimination.

Unsurprisingly, California Democrats erupted in outrage. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office smeared the Court as the “Grand Marshal” of a so-called “parade of racial terror.”

But Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the ruling, saying:

“Now, ICE can continue carrying out roving patrols in California without judicial micromanagement.”

This decision is part of a broader pattern: the Trump administration has been steadily chalking up wins before the high court this year. The Court has repeatedly signaled frustration with lower courts — especially activist judges — that attempt to block Trump’s policies through nationwide injunctions.

While the case will now proceed to the notoriously liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, legal experts note the Supreme Court’s stance leaves little doubt about the likely outcome if it returns to Washington.

For President Trump, it’s another validation of his America First immigration agenda: secure the border, enforce the law, and end the judicial sabotage that obstructed enforcement for years under Democrats.