Immigrants’ Rights
Challenging the Trump Administration’s Unlawful Immigration Raids and Detentions in Southern California
Case Overview
our Clients
Filing
Southern California residents, workers, and advocacy groups have sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in federal court for abducting and disappearing community members using unlawful stop and arrest practices and confining individuals at a federal building in illegal conditions while denying them access to attorneys. The suit alleges that DHS has unconstitutionally arrested and detained people to meet arbitrary arrest quotas set by the Trump administration.
Since June 6, the federal government has unleashed immigration agents onto the streets, worksites, and neighborhoods of Los Angeles and surrounding counties, creating a siege and immigration dragnet over the region. The suit notes, “one of the clearest patterns that have emerged in the raids in Southern California […] has been stops and interrogations […] on the basis of apparent race and ethnicity.”
Agents have been abducting individuals en masse and taking them to the basement of a federal building in downtown L.A., commonly referred to as “B-18,” which lacks beds, showers, or medical facilities. The facility was designed to hold a small number of people temporarily so they can be processed and released, or processed and transported to a long-term detention facility.
The plaintiffs seek to represent two classes of individuals: people who have been or will be subjected to unlawful practices of 1) suspicionless stops and 2) warrantless arrests without evaluations of flight risk. Plaintiffs are requesting the court certify the case as a class action and issue preliminary and permanent injunctions stopping further violations of Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.
The ongoing raids have led to the disappearance of more than 1,500 people. The suit details how federal agents consistently refuse to identify themselves or what agency they are with when asked, using anonymity as a tactic to shield lawlessness.
The suit was brought by five individual workers as well as three membership organizations and a legal services provider—The Los Angeles Worker Center Network, United Farm Workers, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, and Immigrant Defenders Law Center. The plaintiffs are represented by Public Counsel, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, Law Offices of Stacy Tolchin, UC Irvine School of Law Immigrant and Racial Justice Solidarity Clinic, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, ACLU Foundations of Northern California and San Diego & Imperial Counties, Hecker Fink LLP, Martinez Aguilasocho Law, Inc, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, and Immigrant Defenders Law Center.
Court
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Status
Filed
Case No.
2:25-cv-05605-MEMF-SP
Filed
07/02/2025
Public Counsel Legal Team
Strategic Litigation Counsel
Directing Attorney – Immigrants’ Rights Project
Senior Special Counsel for Strategic Litigation
Supervising Attorney
Directing Attorney – Community Development Project
Staff Attorney
Our Co-Counsel
Case Developments
Hearing
10/23/2025
District Court Conducts Hearing to Consider Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Preliminary Injunction on the Access to Counsel (Fifth Amendment) Claims
Judge Frimpong heard arguments regarding Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction to safeguard detainees’ Fifth Amendment rights at the notorious B-18 holding facility in downtown Los Angeles.
Ruling
10/17/2025
District Court Grants Plaintiffs’ & Intervenors’ Joint Motion for Limited, Expedited Discovery
Judge Frimpong approved the Plaintiffs’ and Intervenors’ joint request for limited, expedited discovery—allowing them to send questions and document requests to the government by October 21, 2025, and to seek depositions of specific government agents. A Magistrate Judge will decide how issues of privilege, confidentiality, and timing will be handled before the case moves to the next phase.
Ruling
10/10/2025
District Court Rules That the Case Will Move Forward Without Delay
Judge Frimpong denied the government’s motion to stay Fourth Amendment proceedings, ordered the Fifth Amendment Proceedings to continue, and denied the government’s ex parte application to stay the entire proceedings in light of the government shutdown. Judge Frimpong’s order stated:
“Just as the Defendants are of the view that their conduct is necessary because immigration enforcement concerns emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property, this Court finds that litigation challenging that conduct on constitutional grounds and seeking urgent injunctive relief also concerns emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.”
Filing/RULING
09/23/2025
Plaintiffs & Intervenors File Joint Motion for Limited, Expedited Discovery; Court Sets Briefing and Hearing Schedule
On September 22, 2025, Plaintiffs and Intervenors filed a joint motion seeking limited, expedited discovery to support their request for a preliminary injunction against unconstitutional federal immigration raids in Southern California. The following day, Judge Frimpong issued an order setting an accelerated briefing and hearing schedule, and the parties submitted a joint status report detailing their positions on dissolving the Fourth-Amendment TRO and outlining the next steps for the pending preliminary-injunction motions.
Order Setting Briefing and Hearing Schedule
Plaintiffs and Intervenors Joint Motion for Limited, Expedited Discovery
Proposed Order Granting Plaintiffs’ and Intervenors’ Joint Motion for Limited, Expedited Discovery
Ruling
09/08/2025
U.S. Supreme Court Grants Stay in L.A. Raids Case
The Supreme Court granted the federal government’s request for a stay of a temporary restraining order (TRO) prohibiting federal agencies—including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—from continuing their unlawful stop practices in Los Angeles and surrounding counties.
Filing
09/02/2025
Plaintiffs File Motion for Limited, Expedited Discovery to Investigate Defendants’ Violations of Temporary Restraining Order
Filing
08/07/2025
Defendants File Application with U.S. Supreme Court to Stay District Court’s Temporary Restraining Order
Defendants’ Stay Application to Supreme Court
Plaintiffs’ Opposition Brief to Defendants’ Stay Application
Amicus Brief of Local Cities and LA County in Support of Respondents
ruling
08/01/2025
Ninth Circuit Court Denies Stay in L.A. Raids Case
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the federal government’s request for a stay of a temporary restraining order (TRO) prohibiting federal agencies—including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—from continuing their unlawful actions in Los Angeles and surrounding counties.
Filing
07/28/2025
Plaintiffs File Motions Seeking Preliminary Injunctions for Long-Term Relief from Unlawful Immigration Stops and Denial of Access to Counsel
Filing
07/25/2025
Defendants File Renewed Emergency Motion for Stay with Ninth Circuit
After the district court denied their ex parte motion for a stay, Defendants filed a renewed emergency motion with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to stay the Temporary Restraining Orders (TROs) issued by the district court.
Defendants’ Renewed Emergency Motion for Stay
Plaintiffs-Appellees’ Opposition to Administrative Stay
Plaintiffs-Appellees’ Opposition to Motion for Stay
Local Cities & County Opposition to Defendants’ Emergency Motion for Stay
Ruling
07/17/2025
District Court Denies Defendants’ Ex Parte Defendants’ Stay Request
District Judge Frimpong denied the government’s ex parte request to stay the TRO pending appeal.
ruling
07/16/2025
Ninth Circuit Denies Defendants’ Emergency Motion to Stay TRO Orders
On July 14, the defendants filed an emergency motion in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals seeking a stay of the district court’s TRO orders pending appeal. On July 16, the Ninth Circuit denied the motion without prejudice due to defendants’ failure to first seek relief from the district court, as required by federal procedural rules.
ruling
07/11/2025
Temporary Restraining Orders Granted Regarding Unlawful Stops and Access to Counsel
A federal court found that the federal government’s ongoing immigration raids in Southern California and its denial of access to counsel for arrested immigrants likely violated the Constitution, and issued two temporary restraining orders (TROs) prohibiting the federal government, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), from continuing its unlawful actions in Los Angeles and surrounding counties.
The first TRO bars immigration agents from stopping individuals without reasonable suspicion and from relying on four factors – alone or in combination – including apparent race or ethnicity; speaking Spanish or English with an accent; presence in a particular location like a bus stop, car wash, or agricultural site; or the work the person does. The second TRO orders DHS to provide access to counsel on weekdays, weekends, and holidays for people who are detained in B-18, the federal building in downtown Los Angeles.
Filing
07/08/2025
City and County of Los Angeles and Local Cities File Motion to Intervene
The City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, and the cities of Pasadena, Santa Monica, Culver City, Pico Rivera, Montebello, Monterey Park, and West Hollywood, and co-counsel Munger Tolles & Olsen, filed a motion to intervene in Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem.
Intervenors’ Unopposed Ex Parte Application to Participate in July 10 TRO Hearing
Filing
07/07/2025
18 States File Amicus Brief Supporting Plaintiffs’ Request for TROs
Filing
07/03/2025
Plaintiffs File Requests for Temporary Restraining Orders
Ex Parte Application for TRO–Access to Counsel
Ex Parte Application for TRO–Unlawful Stops
Defendants’ Opposition to TRO—Access to Counsel
Defendants’ Opposition to TRO—Unlawful Stops
Press Releases
Press Release
07/12/25
Media
- LA Times, Federal judge issues tentative ruling ordering that immigrant detainees have access to legal counsel, 10/23/25
- Bloomberg Law, LA ICE Facility’s Open-Door-Only Lawyer Meetings Worry Judge, 10/23/25
- Courthouse News Service, Attorneys demand access to ICE detainees at LA facility, 10/23/25
- MyNewsLA, Judge Hears Arguments Concerning Immigrant Detainees’ Rights to See Lawyers, 10/23/25
- Bloomberg, Why the Supreme Court Lifted a Ban on Migrant Profiling by ICE, 9/16/25
- Courthouse News Service, Remembering the immigration raids that swept Los Angeles four decades ago, 9/12/25
- MyNewsLA, LA Council Calls for `Know Your Rights’ Training For Homelessness Outreach Workers, 9/9/25
- Hey SoCal, Officials, groups react to SCOTUS ruling on LA immigration raids, 9/9/25
- LAist, LA mayor and immigration activists denounce Supreme Court decision on ICE arrests, 9/9/25
- Ámbito (Argentina), Temor en Los Ángeles tras el aval de la Corte Suprema a la reanudación de redadas migratorias en EEUU, 9/9/25
- Deseret News, Supreme Court allows ICE raids to resume in California, 9/9/25
- Telemundo52, Líderes locales reaccionan a decisión de la Corte Suprema que autoriza reanudar operativos migratorios, 9/8/25
- El Heraldo, Tribunal Supremo de EE. UU. permite arrestos migratorios en Los Ángeles tras un recurso de Trump, 9/8/25
- LA Times, ‘It’s going to get ugly’: L.A. immigrants fear the worst as Supreme Court allows raids to resume, 9/8/25
- MyNewsLA, Supreme Court Rules 6-3 in Favor of ICE Over LA Roving Patrols, 9/8/25
- La Vanguardia, El Supremo de EE.UU. permite arrestos migratorios en Los Ángeles tras un recurso de Trump, 9/8/25
- LA Times, Indiscriminate ICE raids in L.A. can resume: What rights do you have?, 9/8/25
- Daily Kos, U.S. Supreme Court Grants Stay in L.A. Raids Case, 9/8/25
- Patch, Supreme Court Allows ‘Roving Patrols’ By ICE To Continue In CA, 9/8/25
- Boyle Heights Beat, L.A. mayor and immigration activists denounce Supreme Court decision on ICE arrests, 9/8/25
- LAW360, Justices Let ICE Raids Continue In LA Without Restrictions, 9/8/25
- NBC News, Why a court order barring ICE from targeting people based on their race isn’t being enforced, 9/4/25
- NY Times, Trump Asks Supreme Court to Lift Restrictions on L.A. Immigration Stops, 8/7/25
- LA Times, Trump administration asks Supreme Court to lift limits on ICE’s ‘roving patrols’, 8/7/25
- NY Times, Judges Keep Restrictions on L.A. Immigration Arrests, in Setback for Trump Agenda, 8/2/25
- The Washington Post, Appeals court upholds block on indiscriminate immigration sweeps in L.A. area, 8/2/25
- CBS News, Appeals court largely keeps restrictions on immigration raids in Los Angeles area, 8/2/25
- ABC News, Appeals court upholds restrictions on Los Angeles immigration arrests, 8/2/25
- LAW360, 9th Circ. Backs Limits On ICE Immigration Sweeps In LA, 8/2/25
- Pasadena Star Tribune, Restraining order on ‘roving’ Southern California ICE raids upheld by appeals court, 8/1/25
- Bloomberg, ICE Racial Profiling Ban in LA Is Backed by Appeals Court, 8/1/25
- NBC News, Appeals court keeps in place restrictions on immigration stops in L.A. based on language and job, 8/1/25
- KTLA5, Court blocks immigration raids in Southern California, 8/1/25
- LA Times, 9th Circuit keeps freeze on Southern California ICE patrols, 8/1/25
- KCRW, Meet the lawyer fighting racial profiling in LA immigration raids, 7/17/25
- Politico, The attorney fighting Trump’s immigration raids in LA, 7/15/25
- MyNewsLa, Feds’ Attorneys File Multiple Stay Orders to Continue ICE Raids in LA, 7/15/25
- NPR Weekend Edition, A federal judge in LA ordered immigration agents to stop arresting people illegally, 7/12/25
- Washington Post, Judge Orders Trump Administration to Halt Indiscriminate Immigration Stops, Arrests in California, 7/12/25
- NY Times, Judge Blocks Trump Administration Tactics in L.A. Immigration Raids, 7/11/25
- LA Times, Federal judge halts indiscriminate immigration stops in Los Angeles and beyond, 7/11/25
- NPR, Federal judge orders stop to indiscriminate immigration raids in Los Angeles, 7/11/25
- Daily Journal, LA federal judge issues TRO barring ICE from racially targeting people, ensuring detainees get access to lawyers, 7/11/25
- Law360, Judge Bars Indiscriminate Immigration Stops In SoCal, 7/11/25
- LAist, Federal judge orders stop to indiscriminate immigration raids in Los Angeles, 7/11/25
- ABC7, Judge says DHS must stop race-based immigration arrests, granting temporary restraining orders, 7/11/25
- LA Times, Federal judge signals a halt to indiscriminate immigration stops, 7/10/25
- WeHo Times, West Hollywood Joins Motion to Intervene in Federal Lawsuit Challenging ICE Raids, 7/9/25
- Witness LA, Mayor Bass & a list of mayors of So Cal cities join in federal civil rights lawsuit against Trump’s militarization of immigration, 7/9/25
- CBS News, L.A. County cities join federal civil rights lawsuit over immigration operations, 7/8/25
- KTLA, Mayor Bass, L.A. leaders speak out against immigration enforcement raids, 7/8/25
- The American Prospect, The ICE Sweeps Are Classic Racial Profiling, 7/7/25
- ABC News, Lawsuit accuses Trump administration of ‘systemic pattern’ of targeting minorities in immigration crackdown, 7/2/25
- CalMatters, ‘Brazen, midday kidnappings:’ LA immigration sweeps violate Constitution, lawsuit says, 7/2/25
- KNX, DHS sued by workers, others targeted in L.A. immigration raids, 7/2/25
- LA Times, L.A. ‘under siege’: Brown-skinned people targeted, tackled, taken, and it must stop, federal suit says, 7/2/25
- NY Times, L.A. Legal Groups Sue to Stop ‘Unconstitutional’ Immigration Actions, 7/2/25
