A federal judge in Los Angeles has ruled that a tactic used by federal immigration agents in Southern California to arrest people in their homes without a judicial warrant is unconstitutional and must end.

The judgment — issued Wednesday against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency — involves so-called knock and talk practices.

ICE didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Advocates argued that the immigration agency rarely obtains judicial warrants and instead counts on immigrants answering their doors voluntarily. Advocates alleged agents routinely misrepresent themselves as police to gain entry so they can carry out an arrest.

Immigrant advocacy groups praised the ruling.

“It is a basic human right for immigrants to feel safe in their own homes and live without fear,” Lizbeth Abeln, interim director at the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, wrote in a news release Thursday. “This won’t undo the years of harm done by ICE, but it is a good first step towards justice.”

The order applies only to ICE’s Los Angeles field office, which includes the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. An expert witness said that available data showed ICE’s knock and talk methods accounted for at least 8% of arrests in 2022.

Four examples listed in the order — occurring between 2017 and 2020 — illustrate instances in which immigration agents entered constitutionally protected areas around a person’s home, such as their porch, patio or backyard, to make contact for an arrest.

Advocates said the practice has continued since then in Los Angeles and across the country.

U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II rejected ICE’s argument that its agents could enter the private areas surrounding a home to knock on the door because mail carriers and delivery people routinely do so.

Immigration agents walk up to a resident’s home without consent and, when the person opens the door, the agents “generally state that they are ‘conducting an investigation,’” according to the order. ICE policies and training encourage agents to use knock and talks, calling the practice one of the four primary methods of apprehension.

“Despite often stating a different purpose for their visit, the true ‘intent’ and ‘actual purpose’ behind a ‘knock and talk’ is to make an immigration arrest,” the judge wrote.

The agents would be permitted to enter those areas if their goal was merely to ask questions, Wright wrote. But he said the Constitution prohibits them from doing so “without a judicial warrant with the intent to arrest the occupant.”

“The more accurate title,” Wright wrote, “would be ‘knock and arrests.’”

The ruling stems from a 2020 class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of two local advocacy organizations, the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, as well as one individual, Osny Sorto-Vasquez Kidd.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, the UC Irvine School of Law Immigrant Rights Clinic, and the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson represented the plaintiffs.

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Fox News Media has invited the Trump campaign and the Biden campaign to participate in a vice presidential debate before the 2024 election. 

In a letter to the campaigns, Fox News Media said it requested the opportunity to host a vice presidential debate, and said it would be available to do so on July 23, August 13, or dates “following both nomination conventions.”

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The proposed vice presidential debate would be hosted by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, who Fox News Media President Jay Wallace said “are obvious choices as the faces of our political coverage.” 

“In addition, FOX News Media has reached out to Virginia State University as a possible location, since it was selected by the CPD as the first historically Black College or University to host a Presidential debate,” the letter said. 

“Despite not having a Democratic debate in 2016/2020, FOX News was able to secure town halls with Democratic candidates such as: Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Amy Klobuchar and Kirsten Gillibrand.
In recognition of FOX News Media’s capabilities and reputation, we cordially extend an invitation to all concerned parties to discuss our proposal,” the letter states. 

Former President Trump accepted the invitation Friday afternoon.

“On behalf of the future Vice President of the United States, who I have not yet chosen, we hereby accept the Fox Vice Presidential Debate, hopefully at Virginia State University, the first Historically Black College or University to host a Debate – Date to be determined,” Trump posted on his Truth Social. “I urge Vice President Kamala Harris to agree to this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” 

The Biden campaign already accepted CBS News’ vice presidential debate invitation for this summer, setting the stage for a showdown between Vice President Kamala Harris and whoever is selected as the Republican VP nominee. 

The campaign notified CBS News that they accepted the invitation to participate in studio on either of the proposed dates — July 23 or August 13. 

On Wednesday, the Biden campaign wrote a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates, abandoning the decades-old tradition of three fall events organized by the debate commission. 

Former President Trump, shortly after, exclusively told Fox News Digital that he would accept the timeline proposed by Biden — scheduling the first presidential debate for June 27 on CNN and the second for September 10 on ABC News. 

Former President Donald Trump headlines a Republican National Committee spring donor retreat, in Palm Beach, Florida on May 4, 2024  (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)

The Biden-Harris campaign asked that the debates occur inside a TV studio, with microphones that automatically cut off when a speaker’s time limit elapses. The letter also asked that the debates involve just the two candidates and the moderator — without “an in-person audience with raucous or disruptive partisans and donors.” 

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They also want the debates without the participation of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. or other independent or third-party candidates. 

“We look forward to the Trump campaign accepting one of these dates so that the full debate calendar for this campaign can be set,” the Biden campaign said about the vice presidential debate schedule on Thursday. 

The fast scheduling began Wednesday morning after Biden posted a video to social media. 

“Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal,” Biden said in a video message shared Wednesday morning. “I’ll even do it twice. So let’s pick the dates, Donald. I hear you’re free on Wednesdays.” 

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)

Trump, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital shortly after, said: 

“Crooked Joe Biden is the worst debater I have ever faced – he can’t put two sentences together,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “Crooked is also the worst president in the history of the United States, by far.” 

Trump told Fox News Digital that “it is time for a debate to take place – even if it has to be held through the offices of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which are totally controlled by Democrats and who, as people remember, got caught cheating with me with debate sound levels.”

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“I’m ready to go,” Trump said. “The dates that they proposed are fine. Anywhere. Anytime. Any place. Let’s see if Joe can make it to the stand-up podium.”

“The proposed June and early September dates are fully acceptable to me,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “I will provide my own transportation.”

And just moments later, Biden posted on his social media that he “received and accepted an invitation” from CNN for a debate on June 27. 

“Over to you, Donald. As you said: anywhere, any time, any place,” Biden wrote. 

When asked for comment, Trump told Fox News Digital that he will accept and “will be there.” The Republican added that he is “looking forward to being in beautiful Atlanta.”

Later Wednesday, Trump took to his Truth Social, echoing his comments to Fox News Digital. 

“It’s time for a debate so that he can explain to the American People his highly destructive Open Border Policy, new and ridiculous EV Mandates, the allowance of Crushing Inflation, High Taxes, and his really WEAK Foreign Policy, which is allowing the World to ‘Catch on Fire.’ I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September,” Trump posted. “I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds – That’s only because he doesn’t get them. Just tell me when, I’ll be there. ‘Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!’” 

Trump on Saturday appeared before a crowd of tens of thousands on the Jersey Shore in the deep-blue state. The campaign event was held in between Trump’s appearances in Manhattan Criminal Court.