Ninth Circuit Affirms Temporary Restraining Order Amid Southern California Immigration Raids

In a significant victory for all Southern Californians, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has denied the federal government’s emergency motion to stay a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California that prohibits the federal government from violating the Fourth Amendment during ongoing immigration raids in Los Angeles and surrounding communities. Munger, Tolles & Olson, along with the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and a coalition of legal aid groups, represents the plaintiffs in both the underlying district court action, Pedro Vasquez Perdomo v. Kristi Noem, and in the related Ninth Circuit proceedings.

On July 12, 2025, the district court issued a TRO that prohibits federal immigration agents from stopping individuals for questioning absent reasonable suspicion that the specific individual is in violation of U.S. immigration law. The TRO specifically bars agents from relying exclusively on racial profiling and non-individualized factors like language spoken or accented speech, location, and occupation as the basis for a detentive stop.

The federal government appealed and sought a stay of the TRO; and on August 1, 2025, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit denied the request for a stay, holding that the government was likely engaged in an unlawful practice of conducting raids based solely on a person’s race and other broad demographic factors. The TRO remains in place.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass praised the Ninth Circuit ruling as “a victory for the rule of law and for the city of Los Angeles.”

This court victory underscores the power of legal advocacy and MTO’s commitment to pro bono work in the face of systemic abuses. The MTO team includes Jacob Kreilkamp, Elaine Goldenberg, Sara Worth, Jeremy Kreisberg, Jamie Luma, Paul Martin, Henry Shreffler, Kyle Groves and Maggie Bushell.

A separate MTO team, led by Martin Estrada, Dan Levin and John Schwab, represents the City of Los Angeles and various other California cities as intervenors in the case.

The ruling garnered significant media coverage in outlets such as The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, CBS News and many others.