Local Civil Rights Advocates Deplore Impact of Supreme Court ICE Ruling
'Shocking' decision says agents can stop people solely based on their race.
Protesters wave a Mexican flag and American flag outside of the Milwaukee office for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on June 10, 2025, during a protest against the Trump administration’s and law enforcement’s recent immigration raids. Evan Casey/WPR
Milwaukee civil rights organizers say they are “preparing for the worst” after a decision this week by the U.S. Supreme Court focused on immigration enforcement.
Community advocates held a press conference Tuesday morning responding to the ruling, which they called “shocking” and “disappointing.”
Darryl Morin is the national president of Forward Latino — a nonprofit, nonpartisan service and advocacy organization with members and affiliates across 29 states. He said there is one question at the heart of the court’s decision: “should the federal government be allowed to detain individuals simply because they’re Latino or Hispanic?”
“According to the Supreme Court? That answer is, shockingly, yes,” Morin said. “According to Justice Kavanaugh, merely speaking Spanish, living in a Latino neighborhood, frequenting a Latino-owned business or holding certain jobs when combined with one’s ethnicity is enough to justify detention by the federal government.”
Community advocates speak at press conference in Milwaukee, Wis. after Sept. 8, 2025 Supreme Court decision on ICE raids. Steph Conquest-Ware/WPR
In July, masked federal agents roved neighborhoods in Los Angeles, stopping and questioning those who they perceived to be Hispanic or Latino. Soon after the Los Angeles raids, the American Civil Liberties Union and others filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration calling the practice unconstitutional.
A district court issued a preliminary injunction, supported by an appeal, which paused the sweeps. The Court’s 6-3 decision came after the federal government filed an emergency request to continue raids while the court case is ongoing.
Rev. Paul Erickson, a bishop for the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, believes the ruling affects everyone living in the U.S.
“I speak today not to be an alarmist, but to make sure that we are all alert to the fact that our democracy is under assault when we cannot rely on the highest court of our land to uphold our basic constitutional protections, allowing ICE officials to apprehend folks based on how they look, where they work, how they speak,” Erickson said. “The rights of every single one of us are at risk.”
The community organizers called on Wisconsinites to record, take photos and ask agents questions to ensure raids are lawful. They are also distributing “know your rights” cards in English and Spanish to help residents prepare for future ICE operations.
Community advocates ‘preparing for the worst’ after Supreme Court ICE decision was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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