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But the Supreme Court majority didn’t agree. While the conservative justices did not issue a detailed explanation for granting the Trump administration’s emergency appeal, Justice Brett Kavanaugh made his position crystal clear.
Kavanaugh wrote separately, stating that it was “appropriate” for law enforcement to briefly interview people when there are “common sense” reasons to suspect they may be in the country illegally. That includes individuals working in industries often tied to day labor who also have limited English skills.
Not everyone on the bench shared that view. The court’s three liberal justices—Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—issued a fiery dissent.
“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,” Sotomayor wrote. “Rather than stand idly by while our constitutional freedoms are lost, I dissent.”
The Justice Department had argued in its emergency filing that Judge Frimpong’s order acted like “a straitjacket” on federal officers trying to enforce immigration law under Trump’s mass-deportation plan.
Court records revealed concerns from appeals judges that the White House may have set a target of 3,000 immigration arrests per day. However, government attorneys insisted no such quota existed—even though former White House adviser Stephen Miller publicly said in a Fox News interview that the goal was indeed 3,000 arrests daily.
Trump had even deployed thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles to assist with enforcement, despite objections from California Governor Gavin Newsom. Another federal judge initially blocked that move, but the 9th Circuit put the ruling on hold while appeals continued.
Monday’s Supreme Court ruling adds to Trump’s growing list of legal victories. On the same day, the Court also cleared the way for Trump to remove Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission, siding with the administration’s argument that presidents should have authority to fire officials running independent agencies.
For Trump and his supporters, the latest immigration ruling signals a major breakthrough, paving the way for tougher enforcement measures as legal battles continue.
