Padilla Statement on Supreme Court Ruling Paving the Way for Racial Profiling in Los Angeles Immigration Enforcement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, issued the following statement after the Supreme Court granted the government's request to lift restrictions on discriminatory raids happening as part of the Trump Administration's sweeping immigration enforcement actions across Los Angeles:

"The Administration has said it themselves: they are detaining people simply based on whether they 'look' like an immigrant, on the language they speak, or where they work. Today's radical Supreme Court decision tramples on our Constitution and enables racial profiling to continue without explanation.

"Trump isn't just targeting violent criminals; he's sweeping up hardworking people - including U.S. citizens - indiscriminately. And he's sowing fear and damaging our economy in the process. This is not the final say. There is still time for the Courts to stop this blatantly racist policy from threatening the basic freedoms of Americans and immigrants alike."

In Justice Sonia Sotomayor's dissenting opinion, she concluded, "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." The dissent points to the conservative justices' increasing willingness to circumvent the appellate process by overturning the District Court's order in "yet another grave misuse of [the Supreme Court's] emergency docket," allowing for renewed violations of Angelenos' Fourth Amendment rights.