9th Circuit hears appeal from Trump administration on temporary restraining order for ICE raids

Tuesday, July 29, 2025
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- After a district judge in Los Angeles issued a temporary restraining order on July 14 regarding raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the scale and aggressiveness of federal immigration enforcement in Southern California seemed to have slowed.

A ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals could change that.

There were hints Monday that the Court of Appeals judges take issue with the raids have been conducted.

"It was clear that all three judges were pretty dubious of the trump administration's position here," Loyola Law School Professor Jessica Levinson said in an interview with ABC7.

Father of 3 Marines detained by immigration agents in Santa Ana speaks out after his release
Father of 3 Marines detained by immigration agents in Santa Ana speaks out after his release


The question at hand is whether the raids have violated the 4th Amendment, which prevents unreasonable searches and seizures.



"It was a targeted operation," said Jacob Roth, a lawyer representing the Department of Justice. "It was not a random people driving by. Look, we see people who appear Hispanic at the bus stop, let's pick them up. It was based on particular intelligence at that location."

That district judge who issued the temporary restraining order felt the raids targeted people based on their ethnicity, the fact that they spoke Spanish, and targeted specific locations like car washes and Home Depot stores. The judge felt those reasons alone are not enough for reasonable suspicion to detain someone.

"There are more than a dozen cities and counties who have come into this court and said there's an extraordinary amount of fear and trepidation and injury that's happened throughout Southern California," said Mohammad Tajsar, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, representing the plaintiffs in the case. "That's why cities have cancelled Fourth of July celebrations. We have clients that have offered their stories that have said they have to spend money on Ubers and Lyfts, because they've seen ICE agents hit bus stops and they're afraid to ride the bus."

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