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Attorney General William Tong today, as part of a coalition of 17 attorneys general, submitted a second amicus brief in support of litigation challenging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) stops of Southern California residents during recent immigration sweeps.

"The lawsuit comes amid the Trump Administration’s campaign of conducting aggressive, militaristic immigration raids that have terrified immigrant and non-immigrant residents alike, chilled community members’ participation in civic society, and impeded law enforcement and public safety," says Tong's press release.

The District Court for the Central District of California previously granted a temporary restraining order against ICE and CBP and the Ninth Circuit declined to stay that order, both concluding that the federal government’s conduct was "likely unlawful."

In today’s amicus brief, the attorneys general urge the court to grant further relief in the form of a preliminary injunction to prevent ongoing harms to the states and their residents. 

“Trump’s masked authoritarian thugs are causing needless panic and chaos in communities across the country. These hyper-aggressive tactics do nothing to fix our immigration system and do nothing to make us safer. It is more performative cruelty from this weak administration trying to look tough and control through fear. These actions are wrong in Southern California, they are wrong in Connecticut, and I join with attorneys general across the country in urging the court to protect our rule of law and public safety,” said Attorney General Tong.

In 1954, California was the first of two states targeted for immigration enforcement under an immigration enforcement initiative known as “Operation Wetback” which involved the mass arrest and deportation of 300,000 people.

"During his presidential campaign, President Donald Trump praised “Operation Wetback” as a model, promising an aggressive and militarized crackdown on undocumented immigration," said the release which lamented how Trump had "praised masked immigration agents conducting unannounced enforcement actions throughout California communities and, in all too many instances, stopping residents without so much as a reasonable suspicion of unlawful conduct, leaving people afraid to leave their homes."

Further, the coalition statement argued that, "in carrying out these suspicionless stops, the Trump Administration has made a target out of California’s diverse communities, chilled civic and economic participation, and damaged trust between law enforcement and communities."

In today’s amicus brief, the attorneys general argue that preliminary injunctive relief is in the public interest because it alleges "CBP and ICE engaging in unlawful stops of Californians without a reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity has harmed local economies, public health, and several other core facets of daily life."

The coalition further complained that "federal law enforcement’s tactics in conducting these stops, which include wearing masks and concealing the law enforcement entity they work for, have impeded local law enforcement and threatened public safety."

Attorney General Tong joins the attorneys general of California, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington in filing the amicus brief.

A copy of the amicus brief is available here.

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