Overview
- In a late-December concurrence unrelated to immigration, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that officers may not base interior immigration stops or arrests on race or ethnicity.
- In September’s Vasquez Perdomo opinion, Kavanaugh said a person’s apparent ethnicity could be a relevant factor in assessing reasonable suspicion for immigration stops.
- Reporting and legal filings say ICE and CBP leaned on the September language to justify stopping Hispanic people, with allegations of excessive force and prolonged detentions.
- Law professor Anil Kalhan’s term “Kavanaugh stops” has gained currency as critics, including Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern, argue the footnote cannot be reconciled with the earlier opinion.
- CBP Chief Greg Bovino has publicly asserted agents can racially profile and suggested people should carry proof of citizenship, reinforcing skepticism that agency practices will shift.