Supreme Court's Sotomayor slams colleague Kavanaugh for ICE ruling

Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY Thu, April 9, 2026 at 10:44 PM UTC

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Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor took a swipe at fellow Justice Brett Kavanaugh at an event on April 7, criticizing her bench-mate for his recent opinion in an immigration case.

Speaking at an event hosted by the University of Kansas School of Law, Bloomberg Law reported Sotomayor spoke about the court's divided decision in September 2025 that allowed the Trump administration to resume indiscriminate immigration-related stops in Los Angeles. The stops sparked widespread protests in California and many people criticized them, saying they were based on racial profiling.

Over the objections of the court's three liberal justices, including Sotomayor's, the court blocked a lower court ruling that said federal agents need to have reasonable suspicion that the person they’re questioning is in the country illegally.

“I had a colleague in that case who wrote, you know, these are only temporary stops,” Sotomayor said, referencing Kavanaugh's concurring opinion, though she did not name him explicitly. “This is from a man whose parents were professionals. And probably doesn’t really know any person who works by the hour.”

Sotomayor added, “Those hours that they took you away, nobody’s paying that person,” she said of those detained. “And that makes a difference between a meal for him and his kids that night and maybe just cold supper," Bloomberg Law reported she told the crowd.

In his opinion for the court, Kavanaugh said that legal residents’ encounters with immigration agents are “typically brief,” and impacted individuals “promptly go free," according to Bloomberg Law.

The legal challenge came after the Trump administration ramped up immigration raids across California starting in June 2025, widening its focus from those with criminal records to a broader sweep for anyone in the country without authorization.

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In dissenting remarks in 2025, Sotomayor slammed the court's decision.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speaks during a funeral service for retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in the Great Hall at the Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., Monday, Dec. 18, 2023.

“We should not have to live in a country where the Government can seize anyone who looks Latino, speaks Spanish, and appears to work a low wage job,” Sotomayor wrote. “Rather than stand idly by while our constitutional freedoms are lost, I dissent."

Kavanaugh was born and raised in Washington, DC, where he attended the all-boys Georgetown Preparatory School. In 1987, Kavanaugh earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale College. He earned his law degree from Yale Law School in 1990. He served as a judge on the DC Circuit before Trump tapped him for the Supreme Court. He was confirmed to the Supreme Court in 2018. He previously served as a top aide to President George W. Bush when he was in office.

Sotomayor made history in 2009 by becoming the first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court. She was nominated by former President Barack Obama. Sotomayor is a Spanish-speaking Bronx native, born to working-class Puerto Rican parents. She earned her bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 1976 and her law degree from Yale Law School in 1979. Before joining the highest court, she served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, the District Court in New York and as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan.

Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Roberts, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett before U.S. President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 24, 2026.

Contributing: Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY.

Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor slams Justice Brett Kavanaugh

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