A Trump-appointed federal judge in Alabama temporarily blocked immigration officers from using several enforcement practices at construction sites in southern Alabama, including entering private sites without a warrant or consent and detaining workers without individualized suspicion that they are unlawfully in the country. The court also temporarily barred officers from continuing to detain workers after they present evidence of U.S. citizenship or lawful presence.
The ruling comes in a lawsuit brought by Leonardo Garcia Venegas, a U.S. citizen and construction worker whom immigration agents have detained three times in Alabama since the beginning of Trump’s second term. Immigration agents detained Venegas while on the job at private construction sites 20 miles apart, once on May 21, 2025, and again on June 12, 2025, even though he presented his Alabama REAL ID, according to court documents. Agents detained Venegas a third time outside his home on May 2, 2026.
The judge concluded that Venegas is likely to succeed on the merits of his claims and that the challenged policies are likely unlawful under the Fourth Amendment. The policies will remain temporarily stayed while the case moves forward.