Overview
- Sonia Sotomayor, who spoke at the University of Kansas on Tuesday, criticized Brett Kavanaugh’s view that immigration stops are only temporary and said he probably does not know people who work by the hour.
- The dispute traces to a Sept. 8, 2025 emergency order that let federal agents in Los Angeles resume interior stops, with Kavanaugh writing that questioning is typically brief and that apparent ethnicity can be a relevant factor.
- Sotomayor highlighted real-world harm, saying even short detentions strip hourly workers of pay that can decide what a family eats that night.
- She condemned the Supreme Court’s use of the shadow docket for the case and called the immigration order a grave misuse of the emergency process.
- The 6–3 split, with Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson joining her dissent, helped trigger protests in California that continue to draw scrutiny during the current term.