Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor apologized Wednesday for comments she made last week that questioned Justice Brett Kavanaugh's grasp of real-world immigration enforcement.

Sotomayor spoke at the University of Kansas School of Law, where she referenced Kavanaugh's concurring opinion in a September 2025 immigration case without naming him. "I had a colleague in that case who wrote, you know, these are only temporary stops," she said. "This is from a man whose parents were professionals. And probably doesn’t really know any person who works by the hour."

The remarks stemmed from Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, decided on September 8, 2025. The Supreme Court granted an emergency stay of a Central District of California temporary restraining order that had blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from conducting stops based on factors like apparent race or ethnicity, speaking Spanish, presence at day labor sites, or low-wage work. The district court found such practices violated the Fourth Amendment for lacking reasonable suspicion.

Kavanaugh, the only justice to write separately in support of the stay, explained that in the Los Angeles area, where about 2 million of 20 million residents are estimated to be illegally present, factors like apparent ethnicity, language, and location could together provide reasonable suspicion under precedents such as United States v. Brignoni-Ponce. He stressed that "apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion" but could be relevant with other indicators, and stops should be brief inquiries into immigration status.

Sotomayor dissented, joined by the other liberal justices, arguing the administration had effectively targeted low-wage Latino workers, citizens or not, for seizure until they proved legal status.

In a statement released by the Supreme Court on Wednesday evening, Sotomayor said: "At a recent appearance at the University of Kansas School of Law, I referred to a disagreement with one of my colleagues in a prior case, but I made inappropriate remarks. I regret my hurtful comments. I have apologized to my colleague." She did not name Kavanaugh.

The exchange highlighted tensions on the court amid its conservative majority's handling of Trump administration immigration policies since his January 2025 return to office. Public personal criticism among justices is rare; they often stress personal collegiality despite sharp legal disagreements.

Sotomayor, raised in Bronx public housing by a Puerto Rican nurse mother after her father's early death, contrasted implicitly with Kavanaugh, whose parents were a lobbyist and a prosecutor-judge. Both attended Yale Law School.

Kavanaugh did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the apology.