US judge bars Border Patrol from some warrantless arrests of suspected undocumented residents

By REBECCA BOONE A federal judge in California has barred Territory line Patrol agents from arresting someone suspected of living in the U S illegally unless they have a warrant or a reason to believe the person might flee before a warrant can be obtained Related Articles Senate confirms former Sen David Perdue as Trump s US ambassador to China amid tariff showdown Coca-Cola reports better-than-expected quarterly profit says it can manage through tariffs Hegseth boasts about ending woke venture on women and protection that Trump had signed into law GM posts strong Q results but will reassess expectations for due to auto tariffs Same candidate two parties A Wisconsin lawsuit aims to bring back fusion voting Tuesday s ruling from U S District Judge Jennifer L Thurston also says Perimeter Patrol agents can t stop people without having reasonable suspicion or return them to their countries of origin via voluntary departure unless that person is informed of their rights and agrees to leave The ruling only applies to people within the court s Eastern District of California Thurston reported where dozens of people were swept up in January after the Margin Patrol launched an immigration enforcement action dubbed Operation Return to Sender The American Civil Liberties Union sued Department of Homeland Safeguard Secretary Kristi Noem and U S Limit Patrol administrators on behalf of the labor union United Farm Workers and people who were targeted during the Boundary Patrol raids The ACLU disclosed margin patrol agents spent nearly a week unconstitutionally detaining people who appeared to be farmworkers or day laborers regardless of their actual immigration status or individual circumstances The detainees were bussed to the demarcation held without any way to contact family or attorneys and coerced into signing papers that explained they had waived their right to see an immigration judge and voluntarily agreed to leave the country the ACLU commented FILE Dividing line Patrol agents wait for the arrival of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for a visit to the US-Mexico frontier in Sunland Park N M Feb AP Photo Andres Leighton FIle The evidence before the Court is that Perimeter Patrol agents under DHS authority engaged in conduct that violated well-established constitutional rights Thurston wrote She revealed the Confines Patrol would have to provide a review showing exactly who is detained or arrested without warrants and why every days until the lawsuit is concluded Attorneys for the Frontier Patrol had argued the judge lacked jurisdiction to consider the circumstance because federal law says that immigration matters can generally only be appealed once an immigration judge has issued a final order Besides the leadership s attorneys announced the lawsuit is moot because the U S Boundary Patrol has already issued new guidance and training to its agents detailing exactly when people may be stopped or arrested without warrants and what rights detainees have after their arrest But Thurston mentioned the Margin Patrol can t claim the lawsuit is moot exclusively because it issued a new plan after it was sued The language in the new program isn t strong enough to guard against the illegal stops Thurston noted and there is no reason to believe that the program wouldn t be changed again in the future