On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to lift restrictions on roving patrols during immigration stops. This ruling overrides U.S. District Judge Maame E. Frimpong’s past ruling in Los Angeles, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers cannot stop someone based on factors such as race, ethnicity and language.
Now, ICE officers can check individuals based on “totality of circumstances” or, in other words, the impressions and suspicions of the officer from their personal observations.
The ruling is described by The Guardian as a win for the Trump Administration in “its ongoing effort to enact mass deportations.”
This decision has rippled through Southern California and made its way to Fresno, where a broader conversation concerning the Supreme Court and its justices has begun.
On Tuesday, roughly 10 people gathered in front of the Robert E. Coyle Federal Courthouse to protest the ruling and the current state of the court’s political balance. Currently, three justices lean liberal and six lean conservative.
Stan Santos organized the protest and sent out the information to social media. He called for an impeachment of the Supreme Court justices who consistently vote conservatively.
“Anybody that makes a predetermined judgment and denies the other side the right to plea their case and to see the process go through the proper jurisdiction, those Supreme Court justices are guilty of violating their roles and their duties and violating the constitution,” Santos said.
As reported by CalMatters, the Supreme Court has sided with the Trump administration for 17 cases in a row.
Former Fresno State director of the Advising and Resource Center for the College of Science and Mathematics, Jaime Arvizu, was also at the protest. He said that he expected more young people to oppose the ruling.
“I’m very surprised based on the number of students that are at Fresno State– 25,000 students– why students aren’t protesting,” Arvizu said. “Why they’re not informing themselves on the decisions that are being made by this administration that are going to implicate their lives in the future.”
Arvizu also pointed to Fresno City College’s population of roughly 22,000 students.
“Where are they?” he said.
Gloria Hernandez, another attendee, said she lost hope for the Supreme Court.
“The three members that are good and shine in the light are outvoted by the five that are corrupted by money, by politics and by white supremacy,” Hernandez said.
Santos plans to create a chain reaction throughout the country for people to stand against Monday’s ruling.
“They’re criminalizing everybody, and they’re completely abdicating their right of due process,” Santos said.
