Brett Kavanaugh Tussles With Fellow SCOTUS Judge Over Immigration Injunction

As a rule: When the district court loses, we win.

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court granted a stay order to President Donald Trump’s administration, dismissing an injunction from a district court that hampered immigration enforcement efforts. 

The injunction prevented immigration officers “from making investigative stops in the Los Angeles area when the stops are based on the following factors or combination of factors: (i) presence at particular locations such as bus ​​stops, car washes, day laborer pickup sites, agricultural sites, and the like; (ii) the type of work one does; (iii) speaking Spanish or speaking English with an accent; and (iv) apparent race or ethnicity,” writes Justice Brett Kavanaugh. (RELATED: Trump Admin Calls On Supreme Court To Stop Release Of $4 Billion In Foreign Aid)

In other words, the district court enjoined immigration officers from doing their jobs. The injunction also placed immigration at risk of punishment for doing their jobs.

BREAKING: Supreme Court grants the Trump administration’s request to lift restrictions on Los Angeles immigration stops. pic.twitter.com/jHBnbiDn3C

— Katelynn Richardson (@katesrichardson) September 8, 2025

“The District Court’s injunction threatens contempt sanctions against immigration officers who make brief investigative stops later found by the court to violate the injunction,” Kavanaugh claims. “The prospect of such after-the-fact judicial second-guessing and contempt proceedings will inevitably chill lawful immigration enforcement efforts.”

Immigration stops have been based on reasonable suspicion of illegal presence for decades, Justice Brett Kavanaugh notes. Reasonable suspicion demands much less evidence than probable cause. 

That suspicion might be drawn from circumstances including, according to Kavanaugh: “That there is an extremely high number and percentage of illegal immigrants in the Los Angeles area; that those individuals tend to gather in certain locations to seek daily work; that those individuals often work in certain kinds of jobs, such as day labor, landscaping, agriculture, and construction, that do not require paperwork and are therefore especially attractive to illegal immigrants; and that many of those illegally in the Los Angeles area come from Mexico or Central America and do not speak much English.” 

“Under this Court’s precedents, not to mention common sense, those circumstances taken together can constitute at least reasonable suspicion of illegal presence in the United States,” Kavanaugh concludes. Ethnicity alone does not constitute reasonable suspicion, but it can be a “relevant factor” alongside others. 

Kavanaugh’s reasoning is simple and correct.

“By illegally immigrating into and remaining in the country, they are not only violating the immigration laws, but also jumping in front of those noncitizens who follow the rules and wait in line to immigrate into the United States through the legal immigration process. For those reasons, the interests of illegal immigrants in evading questioning (and thus evading detection of their illegal presence) are not particularly substantial as a legal matter.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor disagrees. Sotomayor issued a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. 

Reactions to SCOTUS allowing immigration sweeps to restart in LA:

Mayor Bass: “Today’s ruling is not only dangerous, it’s un-American”.

Gov. Newsom: “Trump’s hand-picked SCOTUS majority just became the Grand Marshal for a parade of racial terror in LA”.

ACLU: “Outrageous”

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) September 8, 2025

The government is “seizing people using firearms, physical violence, and warehouse detentions,” according to Sotomayor. “Nor are undocumented immigrants the only ones harmed by the Government’s conduct.” (RELATED: Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor Claims She ‘Cried’ Over Rulings)

Sotomayor consistently refers to illegal migrants as “undocumented immigrants.” In her hierarchy of concerns, the comfort of illegal migrants appears to rank above the good of American citizens. 

“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,” Sotomayor writes.

As Kavanaugh explains, looking Latino, speaking Spanish, and working (certain) low-wage jobs are correlated with illegal immigration status. If one meets these criteria and has legal residence in the U.S., it should be easy to produce evidence to that effect for an immigration officer. And then everyone can move on with their day. 

Sotomayor writes that “Operation At Large,” an immigration enforcement effort, “has sparked ‘panic and fear’ across Los Angeles and its surrounding areas.” Perhaps that’s because Los Angeles and its surrounding areas are dens of illegal migrants who fear deportation. 

Sotomayor offers quotes from Latino U.S. citizens who are worried they might be wrongfully detained. Well, I guess it’s a wrap on homeland security. And the sovereignty of the United States. Latinos are afraid. 

It’s a pity we didn’t get an individual dissent from Jackson. Her eloquence only grows with each opinion. Maybe next time she’ll throw in a sassy gif or two.

Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatSandovalDC