Kavanaugh cites precedent, 'common sense' in supporting SCOTUS order allowing immigration stops

"In the case before the Supreme Court, the circumstances include the "extremely high number and percentage" of people in the Los Angeles area who are in the country illegally and the fact that those people often work in jobs that don't require paperwork, such as day labor, landscaping, agriculture and construction. "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 wrote."

"Kavanaugh said apparent ethnicity alone does not justify reasonable suspicion supporting an immigration stop, but it can be a relevant factor when combined with other factors. Kavanaugh said reasonable suspicion means only that immigration officers may make a brief stop to inquire about immigration status, and a person who is lawfully in the United States or is a U.S. citizen would be free to go after the "brief encounter.""

Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined a Supreme Court stay allowing federal immigration officers to continue investigative stops in the Los Angeles area based on factors including presence at particular locations, type of work, language use, and apparent race or ethnicity. Kavanaugh said apparent ethnicity alone does not justify reasonable suspicion but can be relevant when combined with other facts. He stressed that reasonable suspicion depends on the totality of the circumstances, noting a high number and percentage of people in the area without legal status who often work in jobs not requiring paperwork. Reasonable suspicion permits brief stops to inquire about immigration status. Three liberal justices dissented.

Read at ABA Journal