The Supreme Court has paused a federal judge’s ruling that barred federal agents from making immigration stops in the Los Angeles area and profiling people based on their appearance — or the languages they speak — while the Trump administration appeals the case. Attorney General Pam Bondi praised Monday’s 6-3 ruling by the court’s right-wing majority, writing on X, “Now, ICE can continue carrying out roving patrols in California without judicial micromanagement.” Justices did not state their reasons for overturning the lower court’s ruling. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, “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.” Los Angeles city officials and immigrants’ rights groups condemned the Supreme Court’s ruling. Armando Gudino is director of the Los Angeles Worker Center.

Armando Gudino: “By siding with the Trump administration, this court majority has revealed itself as highly prejudicial and has further empowered authoritarianism in this country. Immigration agents are now being given the power to profile, stop, detain and arrest people because of the color of their skin, the language they speak or the work that they do. In doing so, they have effectively legalized racial profiling and, by extension, racial discrimination.”