Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement on September 16, 2026, after U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ruled to limit when federal immigration agents can make warrantless arrests in Southern California.
"Los Angeles has been tested by this administration time and time again, and we have stood strong," Bass said. "A federal judge has once again sided with Los Angeles and taken action to severely limit when federal immigration agents can make warrantless arrests in Southern California."
Bass said families across the city have lived with fear for more than a year that "a trip to work, a walk down the street, or a goodbye in the morning could end with a loved one being taken away."
She called the ruling "an important protection against the warrantless arrests that have racially targeted Angelenos and terrorized communities."
Bass thanked the Los Angeles Worker Center Network, the United Farm Workers, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, and the Angelenos who filed the lawsuit, which the City of Los Angeles joined, leading a coalition of more than 20 local governments across Southern California.
"The Constitution applies in Los Angeles, just as it does everywhere in America," Bass said.