Fourth Amendment Archives - Davis Vanguard

Government Records Allegedly Show Pattern of Racial Profiling in Southern California Immigration Stops, Plaintiffs Tell Federal Court

By Farhana IslamJuly 29, 2026

Plaintiffs in Vasquez Perdomo v. Mullin filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in federal court Monday, seeking to enjoin alleged racially discriminatory immigration enforcement practices in Southern California. The filing cited newly disclosed government records, sworn testimony, and body-worn camera footage, which purportedly demonstrate federal agents relied on Latino ethnicity and perceived socioeconomic status, rather than individualized suspicion, in conducting stops. Plaintiffs contend these practices violate Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable seizures and Fifth Amendment guarantees of equal protection.

Why Crime Statistics Cannot Explain Racial Disparities in Policing

By David M. GreenwaldJuly 28, 2026

Extensive research challenges the assertion that racial disparities in police stops and searches are adequately explained by aggregate crime rates, attributing these discrepancies to flawed methodological assumptions and self-perpetuating enforcement patterns.

SF Judge Denies Suppression Motion Despite Officer’s Contradictory Account

By Camellia Dehdashti, Sophie Lem, Alec Roderick, Auriany SaavedraJuly 10, 2026

San Francisco Superior Court Judge John Echeverria denied a defense motion to suppress evidence, determining the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence to hold the accused to answer on a felony charge of possession of methamphetamine for sale. The ruling followed a preliminary hearing where the defense contended a lack of probable cause for the search.

Court Watch: Officer Confirms Miranda Violation during Firearm Arrest

By Camellia Dehdashti, Natalie LiangJuly 7, 2026

During a June 30, 2026, hearing in Department 11 of the San Francisco Hall of Justice, Officer Jesus Perez acknowledged under questioning that the accused was not advised of Miranda rights prior to interrogation following the discovery of a firearm. Perez further confirmed the accused’s arrest occurred before the administration of Miranda warnings, despite charges for carrying a loaded firearm.

Civil Rights Groups Ask Ninth Circuit to Bar ICE from Entering Homes with Self-Issued Administrative Warrants

By Jaskaran SinghJune 30, 2026

Three legal advocacy organizations submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, contending that the Fourth Amendment prohibits U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from utilizing self-issued administrative warrants for home entry, arguing such documents fail to satisfy constitutional warrant requirements.

ACLU Report Warns of FBI’s Warrantless Searches of Americans’ Communications

By Kainat BasharmalMay 1, 2026

The ACLU has raised concerns about the FBI’s use of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows for warrantless searches of private communications, and a recent case has highlighted the potential for abuse of this power and the need for stronger constitutional protections.

Geofence Warrants Spark Supreme Court Privacy Debate

By Jasmine CorderoApril 29, 2026

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether geofence warrants, which compel technology companies to provide anonymized location data from devices within a defined geographic area, violate Fourth Amendment privacy rights.

Lawsuit Alleges Racial Profiling and Brutality by ICE in Portland

By Megan StephensApril 21, 2026

The ACLU filed a lawsuit against federal immigration agents for allegedly racially profiling and violently detaining Juan Sebastián Carvajal-Muñoz during an ICE operation, violating his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.

Court Rules Border Patrol Violated Constitutional Limits in Sacramento Raid

By Katelyn LeongApril 5, 2026

The U.S. Border Patrol was found to have violated a court order during a July 2025 immigration operation in Sacramento, as they conducted stops without reasonable suspicion and failed to properly document their actions.

Concerns Rise over ICE’s Broad Discretion in Issuing Arrest Warrants

By Jettie HortonMarch 7, 2026

Critics argue that the lack of oversight and safeguards in the DHS’s arrest practices creates risks of prolonged detention, mistakes and harm caused by inadequately trained officers, and violates the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Geofence Warrants Violate Privacy Rights, ACLU Tells Supreme Court

By Remy SwartzMarch 3, 2026

The ACLU and several other organizations have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to declare geofence warrants unconstitutional, arguing that the increasingly used investigative tool violates the Fourth Amendment and amounts to a sweeping digital dragnet.

Experts Demand Congress Restore Oversight on Homeland Security

By Felipe Juarez MolinaFebruary 22, 2026

The Brennan Center for Justice is urging Congress to enact common-sense reforms to restore oversight, protect constitutional rights, and curb abuses within the Department of Homeland Security, as key accountability mechanisms have been eroded and First and Fourth Amendment protections have been violated.

Santa Ana Police Shooting of Unarmed Teen Leads to Civil Rights Claim

By Benjamin BorghiFebruary 10, 2026

The family of Victor Lopez, an 18-year-old who was fatally shot by Santa Ana police during a traffic stop, has filed a civil rights claim against the city alleging excessive force and a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

California Lawyers Association Raises Constitutional Concerns over Federal Immigration Enforcement

By Yaeli RamirezFebruary 4, 2026

The California Lawyers Association has raised concerns about recent federal immigration enforcement practices, which it says may violate constitutional protections and civil liberties, and has called for courts and oversight institutions to ensure independent review of such actions.

Judge Rules ICE’s Warrantless Home Entries Unconstitutional

By Michelle Garcia, Jamie KoJanuary 24, 2026

Federal immigration officers are now asserting new authority to forcibly enter homes without a warrant signed by a judge, despite a federal judge ruling such conduct unconstitutional after a family’s home was broken into with only an administrative warrant.

ICE Repeatedly Arrests American Citizens, ProPublica Investigation Finds

By David M. Greenwald, Mia WagleyNovember 14, 2025

A ProPublica investigation has found that ICE has repeatedly arrested American citizens, misreported those arrests, and disregarded constitutional protections, raising concerns about unchecked federal power and government accountability.

Residents Challenge NYPD’s Surveillance Practices in Federal Court

By Kailyn StandiferNovember 1, 2025

Pamela Wridt and Robert Sauve are suing the City of New York over the NYPD’s expanding use of surveillance cameras, alleging that the city’s practices violate constitutional protections for privacy, free speech, and association.

Op-ed | Why Police Traffic Stops Are Dangerous and Ineffective

By Emily Reina DindialOctober 31, 2025

Millions of drivers are pulled over every year for minor violations, which rarely make roads safer and instead lead to racial disparities, violence, and loss of trust in police, prompting the ACLU to work to restore people’s rights on the road by limiting or ending traffic stops for issues unrelated to road safety.

UC Davis Professors Critique Supreme Court’s Ruling on ICE Detention Case

By Jack WangSeptember 21, 2025

UC Davis law professors Vikram David Amar and Alan E. Brownstein published an analysis of the Supreme Court’s decision in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, which allowed ICE to use race and other demographic factors in selecting individuals for immigration investigation, and criticized Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s opinion for relying on the controversial Los Angeles v. Lyons decision and for equating race with other demographic factors.

CPDA Slams Supreme Court Ruling Allowing Racial Profiling in Immigration Cases

By Yanik LlamasSeptember 11, 2025

The California Public Defenders Association has denounced the Supreme Court’s ruling in Noem v. Perdomo, which allows federal agents to use race, ethnicity, accent, location and occupation as grounds for detaining individuals, effectively permitting racial profiling of Black and Brown individuals suspected of immigration violations.

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