The case asks whether immigration agents in Los Angeles can stop, question, and arrest Latinos suspected of being in the United States unlawfully based on appearance and occupation. The administration began aggressive street sweeps and describes Greater Los Angeles as hosting nearly 2 million unauthorized immigrants, attributing unlawful presence to sanctuary policies and local resistance to federal enforcement. The administration seeks confirmation that a low 'reasonable suspicion' standard permits stops when apparent ethnicity and job patterns suggest undocumented status, accepting that lawful stops of innocent people may occur. A pro-administration ruling would significantly expand enforcement authority and affect civil rights protections.
The Greater Los Angeles area is "ground zero for the effects of the border crisis," his lawyers told the Supreme Court this month. "Nearly 2 million illegal aliens - out of an area population of 20 million - are there unlawfully, encouraged by sanctuary-city policies and local officials' avowed aim to thwart federal enforcement efforts." The "vast majority of illegal aliens in the [Central] District [of California] come from Mexico or Central America and many only speak Spanish," they added.
Their fast-track appeal urged the justices to confirm that immigration agents have 'reasonable suspicion' to stop and question Latinos who work in businesses or occupations that draw many undocumented workers. No one questions that U.S. immigration agents may arrest migrants with criminal records or a final order of removal. But Trump administration lawyers say agents also have the authority to stop and question - and sometimes handcuff and arrest - otherwise law-abiding Latinos who have lived and worked here for years.
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