Dear Miguel,

We want to share with you today’s huge legal victory against the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.

A federal district court in California issued a preliminary injunction barring the Border Patrol from using stop-and-arrest practices that violate federal law and the Constitution. The ruling by US District Judge Jennifer Thurston in United Farm Workers v. Noem will apply to future Border Patrol operations conducted in the Eastern District of California – which stretches inland from Bakersfield to the Oregon border, where many of California’s farm workers live and work.  

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. 

“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.” 

“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 –  which represented the plaintiffs in court. “Border Patrol must end their illegal stop and arrest practices now.”

In the 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.  

The court also ruled that Border Patrol must document all facts and circumstances related to stops and warrantless arrests in the Eastern District and instruct its agents on how to comply with the Fourth Amendment and federal law. 

If you remember, in January, Border Patrol agents from the El Centro sector traveled to Kern County. 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.  

The order also conditionally accepts the case as a class action lawsuit by certifying two proposed classes. This means all people in the Eastern District of California who meet the class definitions will be protected under this lawsuit. 

It takes courage to fight back and risk being targeted, but we aren’t going to back down. Thank you for being there for farm workers and their families. We will keep you informed as the case progresses. 

Sí Se Puede!

Jocelyn Sherman
Digital Director