Last September, the U.S. Supreme Court quietly made one of the most dangerous immigration rulings in decades. In the 6-3 decision in Noem v. Vasquez-Perdomo, the court gave its blessing to racial profiling on a massive scale.
Since then, masked federal agents in military gear have continuously ignored basic human rights in their enforcement activity, especially targeting Somali and Latino communities.
This is not just about undocumented immigrants. This is about every Black and Latino person in this country—citizen, resident, or otherwise—who now has to wonder if going to work, speaking Spanish, or standing outside a Home Depot makes them a target.
Noem Ruling Green Lights Racial Profiling
What happened last September? The U.S. Supreme Court used its “shadow docket” to lift a lower court ban on ICE’s “roving patrols” in Los Angeles.
In plain language, this means that ICE agents now have the legal cover to stop people based on factors like “apparent race or ethnicity,” language, accent, or workplace.
In Justice Sotomayor’s dissent, she called the ruling a betrayal of constitutional values and a dangerous normalization of discrimination.
Minnesotans Racially Profiled, Sue Trump Administration
ICE and CBP agents have indiscriminately arrested—without warrants or probable cause—Minnesotans solely because the agents perceived them to be Somali or Latino.
Such was the case for R.M. ICE agents were attempting to apprehend someone near his home, so he parked, brought his daughter to safety inside with her mother, and came back out to record what was happening.
One agent walked towards him onto his private property, asking where he was from and for his identification. At the time, R.M. refused to show his identification, saying he was a citizen and that he was not required to show his documentation. R.M. asked the agent why he needed his documents. As R.M. testified (ICE declined to appear in court), the ICE agent responded saying “because of your accent.”
Eventually, the agent let R.M. go after he said he has a passport card in his wallet. He recalled the agent saying to him in Spanish, “I don’t care if you’re a citizen, next time I’m going to take you. I don’t care if I have to do extra paperwork.”
The court found that R.M. and 22 other declarants were stopped and detained based solely on their race or ethnicity. As R.M. explained, his other neighbors who were white were outside yelling at the agents in his defense. But, “I was the only one picked that day.”
His daughter has been living in fear since. She doesn’t want to go outside and is constantly scanning for cars with tinted windows. Another time they went to get ice cream, she begged her father to take her home.
One day as they were driving, they witnessed 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos getting detained by ICE. She asked her dad, “They can take kids too?” When they returned, she closed the curtains in the house and used her family’s shoes to block the front door.
We Should All Be Outraged
We cannot afford to look away. Noem is not the final word—cases will continue, advocates will fight, and communities will resist. But we need to be clear-eyed about what just happened. The court sent a message to ICE: you are free to profile. And unless we push back, ICE agents will continue to take that permission and run with it—in Los Angeles, Minnesota, and across the country.
The question now is not just what ICE will do with this ruling—it is what we will do in response. Will we accept a country where people are forced to prove their citizenship on demand? Where language, accent, or workplace can be turned into suspicion? Where the Constitution bends depending on who you are and how you look?
Get involved in local advocacy against immigration enforcement and abuses. Call your local sheriff’s office and tell them you oppose collaboration with ICE. Attend public meetings where these issues are discussed. Know your rights and educate your friends, family, and neighbors.
If you think your rights have been violated by law enforcement or federal agents, fill out our intake form.
