Kavanaugh Stop
noun
an immigration stop or detainment based on racial or ethnic profiling
What does Kavanaugh Stop mean?
Kavanaugh Stop (sometimes Kavanaugh stop) refers to an immigration stop or detainment by an ICE or Border Patrol agent of a person based on that person's perceived racial or ethnic characteristics or behavior, such as how they look, the language they speak, or where they work.
Examples of Kavanaugh Stop
Quick reminder that Kavanaugh Stops are still happening and they can happen to you, no matter what your immigration status is or what documents you carry.
—@an-old-gremlin, BlueSky, 15 Dec. 2025
A “Kavanaugh Stop” in action—masked law enforcement agents stopping Latinos and demanding to see their papers.
—A recent Supreme Court decision allowing agents to take the ethnic background of a person into consideration in some circumstances has cleared the way for more aggressive patrolling, Shuchart said, referring to what some are calling “Kavanaugh stops.”
—
Where does Kavanaugh Stop come from?
In July of 2025, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit on behalf of five Los Angeles County residents who were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the previous month. The suit claimed that the Trump administration was rounding people up unconstitutionally, without reasonable cause, and instead because agents perceived people to be Latino. The judge issued a temporary restraining order against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) appealed. In September, the Supreme Court lifted the restraining order.
In his concurring opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that “To be clear, apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion; under this Court’s case law regarding immigration stops, however, it can be a ‘relevant factor’ when considered along with other salient factors,” with those other salient factors including language spoken and “certain kinds of jobs, such as day labor, landscaping, agriculture, and construction.”
Following the decision and Kavanaugh’s written concurrence, people critical of the decision and of using race, ethnicity, language, etc. as reasons to suspect, stop, and detain people, began referring to such actions as Kavanaugh Stops.
How is Kavanaugh Stop used?
In newspapers and magazines, Kavanaugh Stop is often presented in quotation marks and glossed to help readers understand its meaning. Outside of journalism (as on social media, for example), it is almost always used to signal disapproval of the practice.
More Slang Words
See All
