Kavanaugh stop en · PROPN
Etymology
Named after Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Meanings
-
(US) A practice in which federal agents detain a person based on their ethnicity, spoken language, and occupation.
Shortly thereafter, Drexel University law professor Anil Kalhan dubbed ICE’s racially motivated activity as "Kavanaugh stops," a term that has also been promoted by Sherrilyn Ifill, a civil rights lawyer at Howard University. The term stems from a concurring opinion written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who said that officers may detain someone if they have “a reasonable suspicion” that the person is in the US without legal status.
2025 October 7, Samantha J. Gross, “Critics of Trump’s immigration crackdown are using the term ‘Kavanaugh stop.’ Here’s what it means.”, in The Boston Globe, archived from the original on 08 Oct 2025:CORNISH: First, remind people what a Kavanaugh stop is, because it's very controversial. WILLIAMS: Right. Well, the – a Kavanaugh stop does not exist. That is just a term that advocates have given. Now, in a concurrence, in an opinion about when migrants can be stopped in the United States, Kavanaugh, Justice Kavanaugh, laid out a number of factors that that can be considered, including language, one's occupation, where they're found, and so on. Many advocates regard it as racial profiling.
2026 April 17, “Sotomayor Apologizes for Kavanaugh Comments; Hegseth Recites Fake Bible Quote”, in CNN This Morning, spoken by Audie Cornish and Elliot Williams:Justice Brett Kavanaugh undid an order by a lower court that barred immigration authorities from using ethnicity as cause to arrest and detain. This is now appropriately called the Kavanaugh Stop.
2026 February 3, Ricardo Pimentel, “As the ICE crackdown continues, empathy lives and hope stays alive”, in Wisconsin Examiner: