U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, a judge of Ghanaian descent, has issued a sweeping order halting key Trump-era practices in Los Angeles County, citing constitutional violations and racial profiling.
Judge Frimpong, who presides over the Central District of California, ruled that the use of “roving patrols” by ICE agents without reasonable suspicion violated the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unlawful searches and seizures.
In her ruling, Judge Frimpong ordered federal authorities to cease the arbitrary deployment of agents and mandated immediate reforms to ensure immigrant detainees have access to legal counsel. Civil rights advocates across California hailed the decision as a milestone in the fight for humane immigration enforcement.
She also found that denying detained immigrants access to legal counsel infringed upon their Fifth Amendment right to due process.
“The Constitution does not yield to unfounded fear,” Judge Frimpong wrote her ruling.
“Racial profiling and denial of legal representation are not compatible with the rule of law.” She added.
What makes this decision particularly resonant is the judge’s personal heritage.
Born and raised in Los Angeles to Ghanaian parents, Kwaku and Theodora Ewusi-Mensah, Judge Frimpong embodies the immigrant-rooted promise of America.
Judge Frimpong is one of the few African-born women on the US federal bench and is helping shape the country’s legal landscape with an acute awareness of both its opportunities and its contradictions, social media comments said.
Judge Frimpong’s Ghanaian upbringing fortified by a formative year teaching in Accra after graduating from Harvard has long informed her commitment to justice, equity, and public service.
Her legal journey includes a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, editorial roles at the Yale Law Journal and Yale Law & Policy Review, and distinguished service across the U.S. Department of Justice.
