Federal Judge in Los Angeles Imposes New Limits on Warrantless Immigration Arrests by ICE Agents in Southern California
A federal judge in Los Angeles, U.S. District Judge Maame Frimpong, has issued new restrictions on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents regarding warrantless civil immigration arrests in the Central District of California. The ruling mandates that agents must now obtain a warrant before making such arrests, unless they can determine that the individual is likely to escape before a warrant can be secured. Judge Frimpong found that federal immigration agents were "regularly abstaining from conducting a likelihood of escape analysis at all." The court order also requires agents to cease relying on a January memorandum from former acting director Todd Lyons, which suggested that merely being undocumented was sufficient grounds for an escape risk. Furthermore, agents must document their analysis of escape risk when conducting warrantless arrests. This ruling applies to Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties.
