Statement from Chris Newman of NDLON on SCOTUS decision to Grant Stay in LA Raids Case

LOS ANGELES – “This decision is disgusting. The Supreme Court dispenses with facts and relies instead on racist stereotypes. It is further evidence that the Supreme Court will continue to co-sign Trump’s authoritarian agenda at a cost to its own legitimacy.

In the short term, this wrongheaded decision will undoubtedly propel Trump’s invasion of major cities, and it will constrain the power of the lower federal courts—the only branch of the federal government not yet fully controlled by the President—from upholding the rule of law.

If there is a silver lining, it is that the decision unmasks the outright lie that these raids are about protecting public safety from serious threats. The Supreme Court majority makes clear that average non-white workers are targets, and it functionally gives its stamp of approval for Trump to trample their bedrock constitutional rights.

What happens next is up to all of us. The obligation now falls on local governments and the public at large to use every tool at their disposal to protect innocent members of our communities—at the state and local level.”

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