A federal judge in Los Angeles has issued a preliminary injunction ordering the Department of Homeland Security to stop using force against journalists, legal observers, and members of the public who document immigration enforcement operations. The July 13, 2026 order by U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera establishes enforceable limits on how federal agents may act when the press and public exercise their constitutional right to observe, record, and report on DHS enforcement and related protests in the Central District of California.
The injunction in the case L.A. Press Club v. Mullin bars federal agents from dispersing, threatening, or assaulting the press or legal observers unless they have probable cause to believe a person has committed a crime unrelated to failing to obey a dispersal order. It also prohibits the use of chemical, projectile, and auditory weapons against journalists, observers, and protesters who pose no threat of imminent harm to officers or others. In short, agents may not force reporters and observers away from public spaces simply because they are documenting immigration operations.
The lawsuit was filed in June 2025 by the Los Angeles Press Club, the NewsGuild-CWA, three individual journalists, two community members, and a legal observer, after DHS agents deployed militarized crowd-control weapons against people protesting and recording the sweeping immigration raids that swept across Southern California last year. The court has also certified a class covering people who record DHS operations, extending the ruling’s protections beyond the named plaintiffs.
The decision is significant for the broader immigrant community because it reinforces public accountability and transparency during enforcement actions. While the ruling does not change any visa, green card, or petition process, it affects the environment in which immigration enforcement takes place — protecting the ability of the press and legal observers to document how those operations are carried out. The order is a preliminary injunction, meaning it remains in effect as the litigation continues and could be appealed by the government.
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Source: KESQ / ACLU SoCal