The Trump administration suffered two legal defeats on Friday when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sustained a court imposed ban on immigration enforcement being conducted on the basis of language or occupation. And a district judge banned the Department of Homeland Security from using a controversial tactic against those with immigration parole.
Newsweek contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment on Saturday via email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
Donald Trump was elected as president for a second term in November 2024 after vowing to crackdown on illegal immigration into the United States, and his administration has said it hopes to deport at least 1 million illegal migrants per year.
With Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress in addition to the White House, the courts have emerged as one of the main impediments to Trump administration policy. Courts have struck down punitive measures introduced by the president against legal firms involved in cases against him; removed sanctions targeted at International Criminal Court employees; and blocked a bid to strip thousands of Haitian migrants of legal protections.
What To Know
On Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a temporary restraining order preventing immigration enforcement agents from detaining people on the basis of their occupation or language was legally valid and can remain in force.
It said part of U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong’s order had been vague, but added that “defendants, however, are not likely to succeed on their remaining arguments.”
The initial case was brought by two U.S. nationals who said they were stopped and questioned by immigration enforcement, despite confirming they were citizens, and by three people who were detained at a bus stop where they were looking to find work.
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Separately, Friday also saw U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ban the Department of Homeland Security from using a controversial tactic against migrants who had been granted immigration parole, allowing them to live and work in the U.S. legally.
In a number of cases in recent months, the pending cases against such migrants were dismissed after which they were detained outside the courthouse and put through an expedited removal deportation process.
Cobb said that her decision will impact “hundreds of thousands” of migrants. It effectively overrules a Trump administration directive issued on January 23 instructing that “expedited removal,” a swifter deportation process, should be used widely.
What People Are Saying
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass welcomed Friday’s appeals court ruling, saying: “Today is a victory for the rule of law and for the City of Los Angeles.
“The Temporary Restraining Order that has been protecting our communities from immigration agents using racial profiling and other illegal tactics when conducting their cruel and aggressive enforcement raids and sweeps will remain in place for now.”
Referring to migrants granted immigration parole in her judgment, Judge Cobb said: “In a world of bad options, they played by the rules. Now, the Government has not only closed off those pathways for new arrivals but changed the game for parolees already here.”
Speaking to Politico, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said: “Judge Cobb is flagrantly ignoring the United States Supreme Court which upheld expedited removals of illegal immigrants by a 7-2 majority. This ruling is lawless and won’t stand.”
What Happens Next
District Judge Frimpong’s restraining order only temporarily restricted the use of employment and language as the sole factor in detaining suspected illegal migrants, and the full case has yet to be heard.
The Trump administration could seek to escalate either case all the way to the Supreme Court, which has a conservative-leaning majority.
