Overview
- Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a new concurrence footnote that race and ethnicity are not permissible considerations for interior immigration stops or arrests.
- In September, Kavanaugh’s Vasquez Perdomo opinion said a person’s apparent ethnicity could be a relevant factor when agents decide whom to stop.
- Reporting and legal advocates say ICE and CBP quickly treated the September language as permission to target Hispanic people, with accounts of aggressive detentions until status was proven.
- CBP Chief Greg Bovino publicly signaled permissive profiling and suggested people should carry proof of citizenship or risk arrest, according to coverage cited by analysts.
- Commentators argue the footnote neither acknowledges error nor reverses operational changes already made, and they doubt agency practices will shift without a direct ruling or policy change.