“We should not have to live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low-wage job.”

This statement is from Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the U.S. Supreme Court, who wrote this in her dissent of the decision in Neom v. Perdomo, a case which will likely be seen again, as this Supreme Court decision was from its emergency docket, meaning a full opinion was not issued. At the heart of the case is a simple but troubling question:
Can the government stop you because of the way you look, the language you speak, or the kind of job you do?

For now, the Court’s answer is: yes, under certain circumstances.

The Background & The Impact: 

In Los Angeles, immigration agents have often targeted day-labor sites, construction zones, and even street corners where people wait for work. Many of the people stopped spoke Spanish or accented English and worked low-wage jobs.

Community members and advocacy groups pushed back, arguing that these stops weren’t based on real evidence but instead on racial and language profiling. A federal judge agreed, blocking immigration agents from stopping people just because of their race, language, type of job, or location.

But earlier this month, the Supreme Court lifted that block in a 6–3 decision, allowing agents to once again use those factors when deciding who to stop. This is the criteria the Supreme Court is allowing ICE to operate under:

• A single factor like race alone cannot justify stopping someone.

• But several factors combined — for example, being at a day-labor site, speaking accented English, and working a type of job associated with undocumented workers — could add up to “reasonable suspicion” under the law.

In other words, immigration enforcement (ICE) can use a mix of these broad indicators to justify stopping people they suspect might be undocumented.

This Supreme Court order is not the final word — the underlying case is still moving through the courts. But the stay means that, for now, ICE agentes can use broad factors — race, language, job, and location — when deciding who to stop.

Critics call this racial profiling. Supporters say it’s about giving officers flexibility. What’s undeniable is that millions of people, citizens and non-citizens alike, could feel its impact.

If you need immigrant legal advice or assistance filing for an immigration petition, you can reach us at (757) 422-8472, or send us a message on our website. You can also schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys by clicking on this link.