Skip to content

Border Blogs & News

Blogs and news from the borders of America.

Menu
  • Home
  • El Paso News
  • El Paso Herald Post
  • Fronterizo News
Menu

El Paso Matters – Did the U.S. Supreme Court lift restrictions on immigration stops based on race or ethnicity?

Posted on October 29, 2025

Yes.

On Sept. 8, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily lifted a lower court’s order that prevented immigration officers in Los Angeles from stopping and questioning people based solely on race or ethnicity, language or type of work, court documents show. 

The 6-3 decision reinstated immigration operations while a lawsuit by plaintiffs challenging them continues in lower courts. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan dissented.

The Supreme Court’s decision was an emergency order, not a final ruling, on whether such stops are constitutional.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that apparent ethnicity can be considered a “relevant factor” in immigration enforcement, while Sotomayor wrote the practice violates the Fourth Amendment protecting people from arbitrary interference by law officers.

Immigrant advocacy groups, lawmakers and others who oppose the practice say the SCOTUS emergency stay authorizes racial and ethnic profiling.

There have been no new rulings as of Oct. 28, 2025.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Editor’s Note: El Paso Matters partners with Gigafact to produce “fact briefs” that examine claims about issues shaping our community. 

Sources

  • 25A169 Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo (09/08/2025) page 17
  • American Immigration Council Article
  • Associated Press Article
  • ACLU Press Release

The post Did the U.S. Supreme Court lift restrictions on immigration stops based on race or ethnicity? appeared first on El Paso Matters.

 Read: Read More 

Recent Posts

  • Texas Monthly – Ruling that blocks Trump use of system to hunt noncitizen voters won’t stop ongoing investigations
  • Border Report – From Florida to New Mexico: Wife relocates to Borderland to fight husband’s ICE detention 
  • Border Report – Nun released after being detained by ICE on her way to Mass
  • Border Report – Ex-Oklahoma state trooper could be next to lead ICE
  • KTSM News – First responders working to recover body from canal in Lower Valley

El Paso News

El Paso News delivers independent news and analysis about politics and public policy in El Paso, Texas. Go to El Paso News

Politico Campaigns

Are you a candidate running for office? Politico Campaigns is the go-to for all your campaign branding and technology needs.

Go to Politico Campaigns

Custom Digital Art

My name is Martín Paredes and I create custom, Latino-centric digital art. If you need custom artwork for your marketing, I'm the person to call. Check out my portfolio

©2026 Border Blogs & News | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme