BREAKING: Court Bars Border Patrol’s Unlawful Stop-and-Arrest Practices

Preliminary injunction applies to future Border Patrol operations in the Eastern District of California.

FRESNO—Today, in a win for civil rights amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, a federal district court in California issued a preliminary injunction barring U.S. Border Patrol from using stop-and-arrest practices that violate federal law and the U.S. Constitution.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer Thurston’s ruling in United Farm Workers v. Noem applies to future Border Patrol operations conducted in the Eastern District of California, which stretches inland from Bakersfield to the Oregon border.

In her 88-page ruling, Judge Thurston noted: "practices employed by Border Patrol agents during ‘Operation Return to Sender’— including detentive stops on foot patrols and vehicular stops without reasonable suspicion—the plans of Border Patrol to perform additional, similar operations in this District and the seeming position of the government that Border Patrol agents are not currently trained on their obligations under the Fourth Amendment” demonstrated imminent, irreparable harm to the people affected by Border Patrol’s actions.

The preliminary injunction prohibits Border Patrol agents from:

• stopping people without reasonable suspicion that they are noncitizens and in the U.S. in violation of federal immigration law; and
• arresting people without a warrant if agents don’t have probable cause to believe the person is likely to flee.

Furthermore, the court ruled that Border Patrol must document all facts and circumstances related to stops and warrantless arrests in the Eastern District and issue guidance to ensure that its agents comply with the Fourth Amendment and federal law.

“Today’s order affirms the dignity and constitutional rights of all people,” said Bree Bernwanger, senior staff attorney at the ACLU Foundation of Northern California. “Border Patrol must end their illegal stop and arrest practices now.”

In January, Border Patrol agents from the El Centro Sector traveled to Kern County where they stopped and arrested people, transported them 300 miles south to El Centro, denied them due process, and coerced them into voluntary departure. As a result of “Operation Return to Sender,” at least 40 long-term Kern County residents remain stranded in Mexico, separated from their families and community.

“This order rightfully upholds the law. Border Patrol can’t just wade into communities snatching up hardworking people without due process, just for being brown and working class,” said Teresa Romero, President of United Farm Workers. “We will continue to fight together for the civil rights of every farm worker and every immigrant community. This agency and this administration will not keep terrorizing our union members, our coworkers or our neighbors unchecked. Not on our watch.”

The order also provisionally certifies the case as a class action by certifying two proposed classes, the Suspicionless Stop Class and the Warrantless Arrest Class. All people in the Eastern District of California who meet the class definitions will be class members protected by orders issued in this lawsuit.

“All residents of the Eastern District of California are entitled to live their lives without fear that federal agents will indiscriminately assault and arrest them based on the color of their skin or their perceived occupation,” said Franco Muzzio, a partner at Keker, Van Nest & Peters. “The Court’s decision today makes clear that Border Patrol’s lawless practices cannot continue.”

“Today’s ruling serves as a powerful victory — both in our current lawsuit and our longstanding mission to ensure that the constitutional and civil rights of all people are protected,” said Brisa Velazquez, immigrants’ rights staff attorney at the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties. “The fundamental rights of due process and protection from unreasonable seizures embodied in the U.S. Constitution apply to every person in this country, regardless of their race, perceived immigration status or occupation.”

The United Farm Workers and five Kern County residents sued the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Border Patrol in February. The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU Foundations of Northern California, Southern California, and San Diego & Imperial Counties, and by Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP.

Read the order.