AG Bonta today led a coalition of 17 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in United Farm Workers v. Noem, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to keep an injunction in place related to the Border Patrol’s unlawful stops and arrests during “Operation Return to Sender,” a multiday immigration raid in Kern County earlier this year. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California previously granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting Border Patrol agents from conducting stops without reasonable suspicion and from making warrantless arrests without probable cause that the individual is a flight risk.  

“These unlawful stops and warrantless arrests have, unfortunately, become a familiar story for communities in California this past year. The unscrupulous tactics used by Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino and his team of agents during raids in Kern County, Los Angeles, and across the nation threaten the basic civil liberties afforded to all who call this country home. I urge the court to block these lawless practices and help protect California communities.” – AG Bonta