This statement can be attributed to Wendy Chun-Hoon, president and executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)  

Washington, D.C., September 16, 2025—On September 8, 2025, the Supreme Court issued an unsigned order stating that federal agents could continue to detain people and question them about their immigration status based on one or more of these factors: presumed race or ethnicity; speaking Spanish or speaking English with an accent; type of employment; and being in an area deemed to have a high concentration of migrants and immigrants. These factors amount to racial profiling and permit policing based on assumptions, biases, and prejudices. Lower courts had issued temporary restraining orders prohibiting the government from employing these aggressive tactics, which violate the Fourth Amendment. 

The Court’s order has, at least temporarily, legitimized racial profiling across an untold number of populations, putting millions of U.S. citizens and noncitizens alike at immediate risk. This order erodes the constitutional right of due process, normalizes and expands pre-emptive and discretionary powers given to law enforcement agents, and negates a core tenet of the American justice system: “innocent until proven guilty.” 

The case is still pending at the Ninth Circuit, which will hear the full appeal. CLASP supports the previous lower court ruling and will continue to advocate against administrative actions that harm immigrant communities and communities of color.