Fed Judge Throws Up Roadblocks on ICE Stops, Arrests in L.A.

 Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) Overview

- Issued on July 11 by Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong in Perdomo v. Noem

- Limits ICE's alleged “roving patrols” targeting worksites, parking lots, and bus stops

- Likely to be overturned on appeal

ICE Arrest Powers Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)

- INA provides immigration officers with extensive arrest powers

- Section 236(a) allows administrative warrants for removable aliens

- ICE officers not required to seek a judicial warrant before custody

- Section 287(a)(1) permits interrogation of individuals presumed to be aliens

- Section 287(a)(2) allows arrest if there is reason to believe an individual is illegally present

Reasonable Suspicion

- ICE officers must not arrest based on whim

- INS v. Lopez-Mendoza case defines immigration arrests rules

- Exclusionary rule does not apply in civil deportation proceedings

- Arrests can proceed regardless of how evidence is obtained, focusing on identity and alienage

Simple Questioning and Brief Detentions

- Officers can question anyone not under arrest; individuals can leave freely

- “Reasonable suspicion” required for brief detentions, based on specific facts

Formal Arrests

- Formal arrests require reason to believe an individual violated immigration laws

- Courts interpret the “reason to believe” standard as similar to probable cause

TRO Specific Orders

- Bars ICE from conducting detentive stops without reasonable suspicion

- Restrictions on factors that can't solely establish reasonable suspicion:

- Race or ethnicity

- Language (Spanish or accented English)

- Location presence

- Type of work

Impact of the TRO

- Limits ICE's questioning capabilities in certain areas including bus stops and labor pick-up sites

- Issues of language fluency cannot be the sole basis for suspicion

- Likely leads to continued presence of unlawfully present aliens without enforcement

- TRO aims to protect illegally present aliens from detention or removal

- DOJ has already filed a notice of appeal against the TRO 

https://cis.org/Arthur/Fed-Judge-Throws-Roadblocks-ICE-Stops-Arrests-LA