Judge Rules ICE Enforcement Likely Violates Constitution

At the other site, officers “ran past four non-Latino workers and went straight for Venegas’ crew, all of whom were Latino,” according to court filings. At one site, Venegas was working alone inside a home in a housing development when an officer entered and ordered him outside where he was lined up with other Latino workers detained from other sites in the development, per the filings.

Venegas claims in the filings that “dragnet” raids by ICE, a unit of the federal Dept. of Homeland Security, have been occurring on construction sites throughout the region and that the agency authorizes armed raids based on general assumptions that certain groups of people, including Latinos, are likely illegal immigrants.

Venegas sued the agency. alleging that its “sweeping search and seizure power” at construction sites violates the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure, and exceeds its authority by enforcing warrantless site entry; preemptive detention; and continued detention.

In a Sept. 21 order, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Beaverstock in Mobile agreed, ruling that immigration agents likely violated Venegas’ Fourth Amendment rights. A President Donald Trump appointee in 2018, Beaverstock issued a temporary stay of the three enforcement policies while the litigation proceeds. 

“The government argued that construction sites should be treated as ‘open fields’ where officers may freely enter without a warrant. Even if the outdoor portions of a partially constructed site could arguably qualify as an open field, the government offered nothing to support that conclusion with respect to the June encounter, which took place inside a nearly completed residential structure,” Beaverstock said. “The nature of the worksite does not open the floodgates to warrantless government intrusion and there exists no justification to enter a construction site that is not open to the public to conduct warrantless seizure.”

The judge noted that Venegas’s case, brought by Arlington, Va-based public interest legal group, Institute for Justice, is likely to succeed on its merits.

Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.

“This decision is a huge blow to [the department’s] lawless enforcement practices,” said Jared McClain, Institute of Justice senior attorney, in a statement to the media. “The government stood up in court and argued that they don’t need warrants to enter private construction sites and round up all the workers, and that they can’t trust government-issued IDs. By setting aside those unconstitutional policies, the court has restored the rule of law. Construction workers like Leo can finally go to work in peace again.”

The judge’s decision, which is only viable in his jurisdiction, will likely be appealed, 

Trent Cotney, partner and construction team leader at Adams & Reese law firm in Tampa and National Roofing Contractors Association general counsel, told ENR: “Regardless, this is the first time I can remember where the three core tenants that came out of this case were just buttoned up perfectly in a decision relating to construction — and it’s a very useful opinion,” with broad ramifications, said Cotney, who is also senior fellow at the National Construction Policy Institute.

Decision Impact

The decision has critical takeaways for those in charge of construction sites, Cotney said. Regardless of whether or not the jobsite is residential, it must have proper signage and fencing and be obvious that the public should not enter, he said. Along with that, owners must train field worker managers to ensure that they understand and assert their rights.

“Be respectful, be civil, don’t obstruct, but know and assert your rights,” Cotney said. “You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to counsel, and ICE cannot access what is considered private areas or private property without a judicial warrant, so you have to assert that right.”

In addition, there must be a reasonable suspicion to undertake a preemptive or presumptive detention, he said. “The fact that someone is a certain color or a certain race is not the necessary presumption that is needed to detain someone. It has to be based off of reasonable suspicion,” Cotney said.

Most importantly. Venegas is a U.S. citizen and presented a REAL ID. “My understanding is that [the REAL ID] is DHS vetted. That ends the inquiry. You can’t further detain somebody after that” Beaverstock said.

“I’ve been waiting for the courts to finally say something about these tactics and procedures. It’s clearly a tactic of ICE,” said George Carrillo, co-founder and CEO of the Hispanic Construction Council. “I think that the government’s position on this was very weak and just really shows what institutional racism looks like.”

Latinos make up a significant part of the construction workforce and the vast majority who are on sites are there legally, he said.

In 2025, Latinos accounted for 35.2% of the construction industry workforce—or about 4.2 million workers in positions from craft laborers to owners, engineers and architects, according to council research. When considering those who physically work at sites, the proportion jumps to about 52%, Carrillo said.

Ongoing ICE raid have given pause and created an environment of fear, he said. “Being detained for what? Being told I’m a liar when I give a valid ID. The fact that I have to prove that I’m a U.S. citizen yet see my colleagues that may not be the same color as me” not get the same treatment is wrong, he said.

Carrillo said some large contractors he has spoken with initially thought their sites would not be targeted by ICE because the government would only go after criminals. “But many of them have been targeted and are shocked and don’t know what to do with that,” Carillo said. Some of them have contracts with federal and local governments so are trying not to burn any bridges by complaining, he added.

“There’s a lot of fear and intimidation, and it’s not just for Latinos. It’s also for business owners,” he said. “I think that more people are starting to understand that and are able to relate because they’re also afraid.”

Cotney said he is fielding calls from across the country about ICE raids. The number of I-9 audits, used to verify U.S. employment eligibility, that his firm is defending has skyrocketed. 

While the judge’s ruling is not necessarily setting precedent in all jurisdictions, Carillo said, it is still important because “it is sound, reasoned text” that can be referred to.