The decision issued October 7 by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey I. Cummings extends court oversight of the agency until February 2, 2026, and warns that officers who disregard the order could face contempt or criminal referral.
The decision issued October 7 by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey I. Cummings extends court oversight of the agency until February 2, 2026, and warns that officers who disregard the order could face contempt or criminal referral.
Because police officers have qualified immunity.
This ruling only means something if SCOTUS upholds the arrest and conviction. It’s an improvement, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not holding my breath.
This ruling is important because it finally brings to the floor that it is not at a valid presumption that local cops cannot enforce the law on federal agents. In the last year, the narrative that “herpaderp supremacy clause means states and cities can’t do anything to enforce law on someone claiming to be a fed” has so normalized a totally unproven and unsupported extension of the supremacy clause that it’s become hard to even bring this up in municipal conversations.
Qualified immunity does not and never has protected anyone in law enforcement from arrest or prosecution for committing a crime. It protects law enforcement personnel from being sued over damages they cause during the course of their duties, provided that the execution of said duties did not violate anyone’s constitutional rights.
ICE are not police and SCOTUS are not state or local authorities. If ICE can be categorized as police then they should be required to get real warrants from local judges and attorneys, but they don’t.
They don’t even get warrants before taking action, period. They generate warrants after the fact.