The U.S. Supreme Court has thrown its weight behind Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, giving federal agents a green light to resume sweeping raids across Southern California. The ruling, delivered in a terse and unsigned order, allows officers to detain individuals based on race, language, or even an accent—an approach critics say turns entire Latino communities into targets.
California’s governor responded with blistering words, warning that the court had sanctioned what he called a “parade of racial terror.” His outrage reflects fears that families, workers, and even U.S. citizens could now be stopped at will, forced to prove their legal status under intimidating conditions.
The decision comes after a lower court blocked Trump’s enforcement strategy in July, finding it violated constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. That safeguard has now been temporarily lifted while the case—filed by Latino plaintiffs, including American citizens—winds its way through the courts.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court’s first Hispanic member, did not mince words in her dissent. Joined by two liberal colleagues, she accused the majority of giving federal agents a license to seize people without cause, writing: “All Latinos, U.S. citizens or not, are now fair game.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s camp celebrated. His attorney general declared it a “massive victory,” promising that roving patrols would continue without what she called “judicial micromanagement.” The administration has already set ambitious deportation quotas, with demands for thousands of arrests daily.
Street protests have erupted in Los Angeles, where armed agents in masks and body armor have carried out raids at workplaces and neighborhoods. The unrest grew so intense earlier this year that Trump dispatched military troops to California’s largest city, a move state officials condemned as unlawful.
Civil rights groups warn the ruling will embolden agents to lean on racial profiling and intimidation. The ACLU of Southern California, representing those caught in the raids, called the court’s order a devastating blow: “This isn’t immigration enforcement—it’s a racist dragnet,” one attorney said.
For now, Trump’s immigration machine grinds forward, reshaping life in immigrant-heavy communities while constitutional battles rage in the courts. Whether the raids stand the test of law—or history—remains to be seen.
