The City of Carpinteria will be the latest California city to join in the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawsuit against the federal government, which alleges that federal immigration enforcement tactics are unconstitutional, and people have been targeted based solely on their skin color, arrested without warrants, and denied access to legal counsel.
Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, and Oxnard are among more than 20 cities to join the ACLU lawsuit as of Friday, August 8. Other cities intervening in the suit include Los Angeles (city and county), Anaheim, Beverly Hills, Bell Gardens, Culver City, Huntington Park, Long Beach, Lynwood, Montebello, Monterey Park, Pasadena, Paramount, Pico Rivera, Pomona, Santa Ana, Santa Monica, South Gate, and West Hollywood.
The lawsuit was filed as an attempt to stop what the ACLU argues is “indiscriminate immigration raids” that target specific groups without reasonable suspicion, resulting in unlawful detentions based on racial profiling. There is currently a court-issued temporary restraining order which restricts federal agencies from stopping individuals based on race, which language they speak, or whether they are at a particular targeted location.
The temporary order was appealed by the federal government, but was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals on August 1 — preventing any further indiscriminate enforcement in Southern California while the case makes its way through the next steps. The Trump administration has since asked the Supreme Court to weigh in and potentially lift the order.
ACLU Foundation of Southern California staff attorney Mohammad Tajsar criticized the administration’s attempts to ask the Supreme Court to intervene on an order that is meant to protect communities from the government’s “reckless and cruel raids.”
“The federal government has now gone running to the Supreme Court asking it to undo a narrow court order — applicable in only one judicial district — that merely compels them to follow the Constitution,” Tajsar said. “We look forward to making our case to the Supreme Court that the federal government cannot deprive individuals of their liberty without justification, regardless of their immigration status.”
There has been no official response from the Supreme Court regarding the Trump administration’s request at this time. The Central District Court is expected to hold a preliminary injunction hearing on September 24.
