Judge Blocks Border Patrol Arrests Without Warrants in CA

A federal judge in California just threw a wrench into Border Patrol operations, telling agents they can’t arrest suspected illegal immigrants without a warrant unless they think the person is about to bolt.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston sided with the ACLU, which sued Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol brass on behalf of the United Farm Workers and several detainees nabbed during a recent sweep called “Operation Return to Sender.”

Wondering who appointed the CA District Judge who BANNED Border Patrol from arresting suspected criminal illegals without a warrant?

You guessed it! It's Joe Biden! https://t.co/lIgWcUjjHP pic.twitter.com/fOW2E96k8k

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 30, 2025

The judge’s ruling, handed down Wednesday in the state’s Eastern District, says agents need “reasonable suspicion” just to stop someone. It also forbids agents from pushing people into “voluntarily” leaving the country without first reading them their rights.

The ACLU claimed agents were rounding people up based on how they looked or what job they seemed to have, holding them without access to lawyers, and strong-arming them into signing deportation papers.

This decision handcuffs Border Patrol specifically within that California district, adding another layer of legal hurdles to enforcing immigration law. It highlights the clash between securing the border and activists pushing claims of constitutional rights violations for non-citizens.

For now, it seems the Department of Homeland Security isn’t fighting the ruling, but this is just the latest battleground in the nationwide fight over how to handle the ongoing border crisis.