Judge Blocks Warrantless Border Patrol Stops in California: 'You Just Can't Walk up to People With Brown Skin

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting Border Patrol agents from conducting warrantless immigration stops or arrests without proper justification in a large portion of California. Specifically, in the state's Eastern District, which spans from Redding to Bakersfield

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) following a January sweep by Border Patrol agents in Kern County, where dozens of individuals, many appearing to be farmworkers or day laborers, were detained without warrants or probable cause.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston ruled that agents may not stop individuals without reasonable suspicion of immigration violations and may not arrest them without a warrant unless there is a specific reason to believe the person might flee. "You just can't walk up to people with brown skin and say, 'Give me your papers,'" she said during a hearing reported by Cal Matters.

The injuction requires Border Patrol to report all warrantless arrests and provide documentation every 60 days. The court found that the agency's recent practices — including slashing tires, forcibly detaining individuals, and using racial slurs, including calling farmworkers "Mexican bitches" — was wide scale and not limited to individual agents, a contrast with claims from Border Patrol attorneys who characterized those examples as isolated incidents

Court filings showed that the January raid, known as "Operation Return to Sender," resulted in the detention of 78 individuals, 77 of whom had no known immigration or criminal history. Witnesses described aggressive tactics and coercion, including forcing people to sign documents waiving their rights. The ACLU alleges that at least 40 people, including longtime U.S. residents, were removed from the country without due process and are currently stranded in Mexico.

The ACLU, along with United Farm Workers and several individuals, filed the lawsuit back in February to halt what they described as unlawful racial profiling and unconstitutional arrests. "They stopped us because we look Latino or like farmworkers," said Maria Hernandez Espinoza, a plaintiff who had lived in the U.S. for 20 years before being deported. "I hope our rights are protected so that all workers can work and live in peace."