SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:
For more on the immigration arrest ruling, we reached out to lawyer Mark Rosenbaum. He's a senior special counsel for strategic litigation at the nonprofit public interest law firm Public Counsel. He was one of the lawyers who represented the plaintiffs in this case, and he joins us now. Good morning, Mark.
MARK ROSENBAUM: Good morning. How are you?
MCCAMMON: I'm good. So how will this temporary restraining order affect the way immigration raids are being conducted in the Los Angeles area?
ROSENBAUM: Well, the order is really quite modest. As you report, all it says is you can't use race or ethnicity, where a person is located - a bus stop or a Home Depot - as a basis for stopping and arresting individuals. That's what the government's been doing. So nothing about failing - saying to the government you can't carry out operations. It just says let's not use race as your marker as to who's legally in the country and who is not.
MCCAMMON: You know, as we heard, border czar Tom Homan says agents are trained to consider many factors when they stop someone out in public, not only their appearance. How do we know they aren't following those protocols?
ROSENBAUM: Well, the judge said during a two-hour hearing on Thursday, said to the government, show me a single document. You have arrested close to 2,000 individuals in a city of 2 million Latinos, 5 million in the county. Show me a single document that demonstrates that you used other factors instead of race, and the government couldn't come up with even one document. There's more evidence of violation of the law on a speeding ticket than anything that the government came up with.
MCCAMMON: Now, another part of this judge's order says that detainees have to be given access to lawyers. You're one of those, of course. What has been happening to you and the other attorneys who are trying to get in touch with these clients?
ROSENBAUM: Well, we haven't been provided access. The government is taking these individuals who they're sweeping up - not killers or rapists or drug dealers - bringing them to a downtown Los Angeles basement facility, keeping them there for up to 12 days. No beds, no showers, no medical facilities, no food. And most importantly, denying them any access to lawyers whatsoever, or maybe five- to 10-minute meetings for a handful of those individuals. But access to lawyers has been cut off in terms of what's happening to these individuals once they're brought in.
MCCAMMON: Now, on Sunday, the federal government filed a notice of appeal. What arguments are you expecting from the government?
ROSENBAUM: Well, I think you're going to hear the same thing that you just played, that in fact we are taking care to respect the Constitution. But as I said, there wasn't a single piece of evidence that that came forward. In terms of access to lawyers, I don't know what they're going to come up with because they locked the door. And they took a white van with individuals who were inside the facility. And when lawyers started shouting you have a right to a lawyer, the ICE agent responded by honking a horn so that the individuals inside couldn't even hear those modest claims. So I don't know what the claim is going to be other than we're doing it right, though there's no evidence that that, in fact, is what's taking place.
MCCAMMON: Now, quickly, this temporary restraining order is in effect only for 10 days. What are your legal next steps in 40 seconds or so?
ROSENBAUM: We want this to get to court with a hearing on a preliminary injunction as quickly as possible. And we'll be calling the government today to say let's get this to court. Let's get this decided so that the siege of Los Angeles can end.
MCCAMMON: Mark Rosenbaum at the law firm Public Counsel is one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in this case. Mark, thanks so much for your time.
ROSENBAUM: Thank you for your interest. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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