dailyloe.com – Justice Sonia Sotomayor publicly criticized a fellow Supreme Court justice for minimizing the impact of immigration enforcement stops. She made these remarks during an event at the University of Kansas School of Law. Sotomayor specifically referenced a concurring opinion in a 2023 emergency order case.
She argued the justice failed to understand the real-world effects on detained individuals. Sotomayor suggested this perspective came from someone unfamiliar with hourly wage work. The justice she referenced was Brett Kavanaugh, though she did not name him directly.
The Supreme Court’s unsigned order last September allowed sweeps in Los Angeles to resume. It paused lower court rulings that barred stops based on language or occupation. Kavanaugh’s concurrence stated such encounters were typically brief.
He claimed impacted individuals would promptly go free. Immigration lawyers strongly dispute this characterization of events. They report clients have been tackled or detained by federal officers.
Progressives have nicknamed these encounters ‘Kavanaugh stops’. Sotomayor emphasized the significant financial consequences of even short detentions. For hourly workers, lost wages can mean missing a meal.
She stated nobody pays a worker for the hours they are taken away. This can decide between a proper meal or cold supper for a family. Her comments stem from a deeply felt responsibility as the first Latina justice.
Sotomayor also addressed her sharply worded dissent in the original case. The court’s emergency order was issued without a majority rationale. This case highlights ongoing debates over immigration enforcement tactics.[]
Source: Bloomberg Law News
