ACLU Urges Vigilance in Los Angeles as Court Blocks Racially Motivated Immigration Raids
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August 5, 2025 Hour: 10:58 am
‘If you see something, say something,’ said attorney Tajsar.
On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) urged the Los Angeles community to remain vigilant in ensuring compliance with a U.S. federal court order that prohibits arrests based on racial profiling or without reasonable suspicion.
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“If the federal government storms the streets with armed and masked agents… my message to everyone is: If you see something, say something,” said ACLU attorney Mohammad Tajsar.
The call came following a new legal victory for immigrants in a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration, which succeeded in halting immigration raids that had plagued Los Angeles for over a month.
On Aug. 1, a panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a temporary restraining order issued by a lower court that prevents the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from conducting indiscriminate arrests in seven Southern California counties.
Tajsar, along with other attorneys representing the plaintiffs, remains on high alert over concerns that the Trump administration might violate the court order in pursuit of its promise of mass deportations. Federal agencies have been arresting individuals unconstitutionally to meet an arbitrary arrest quota.
The plaintiffs include five detained workers and several advocacy organizations: the Los Angeles Worker Center Network, United Farm Workers (UFW), the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), and the Immigrant Defenders Law Center.
“We aim to hold the federal government accountable for the authoritarian horrors it unleashed in Southern California, and we invite every person of conscience to join us in defending the integrity and freedom of communities of color across the country,” the ACLU attorney emphasized.
CHIRLA Director Angelica Salas said local organizations will continue monitoring federal operations to ensure the temporary order is not violated. Tajsar warned that attorneys representing the plaintiffs have a responsibility to investigate any suspected violations of the court order, stressing that public assistance and reports are crucial. A new hearing in the case is scheduled for Sept. 24.
‘We Are Not Invisible’
The need for a united front against immigration raids prompted Pedro Vasquez Perdomo, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, to go public with his story in a call to resist indiscriminate enforcement actions through unity.
“I don’t want silence to be our story,” said the Salvadoran immigrant during a press conference, urging others affected by the raids to speak out.
Vasquez Perdomo was detained in a raid in Pasadena on June 18 while waiting at a bus stop for a ride to work. Several unmarked vehicles arrived, and masked men detained him “as if I were a criminal.”
The immigrant, who has diabetes, was taken to the basement of the federal building in downtown Los Angeles, known as “B-18,” where he shared a room with 52 other people. The space lacked a bathroom and was unsanitary.
During the three weeks he was detained, he did not receive medical treatment despite dangerously unstable blood sugar levels and a serious eye infection. Although he was eventually released on bond, Vasquez Perdomo said the trauma “hasn’t left me.”
He now avoids leaving his home unless absolutely necessary. “I’m afraid that because of the color of my skin, immigration authorities could take me again,” he said.
teleSUR/ JF
Sources: EFE – ACLU