A federal judge in California has signaled she may move to curb warrantless immigration arrests in Los Angeles and nearby areas, saying agents may need to make individualized findings that a person poses a flight risk before making an arrest. The case could affect how immigration enforcement is carried out in Southern California, where federal law requires both probable cause of unlawful presence and a risk of escape before a warrantless arrest.
U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong indicated she was inclined to issue an order limiting arrests made without a warrant unless federal immigration agents first determine, on a case-by-case basis, that the person is likely to flee. The standard is especially significant in Los Angeles, home to a large immigrant community and a number of “sanctuary” policies that limit local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
The judge’s tentative ruling came after the American Civil Liberties Union and Public Counsel submitted an analysis of 113 arrest records used as enforcement evidence. The groups said about 80% of the records either did not include any flight-risk assessment or relied on boilerplate language. Their review also found that authorities treated factors such as living in a sanctuary state, refusing to obey orders or simply being in the country illegally as enough to assume flight risk.
In some cases, the groups said, body camera video did not match the arrest reports filed by authorities. Frimpong’s expected order would add another layer of scrutiny to immigration arrests in the Los Angeles area, but the precise scope of any final ruling was not included in the article.
