The Supreme Court justice appeared to criticize Kavanaugh over his stance on immigration enforcement.
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor apologized in a statement for comments she recently made about Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“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 remarks that were inappropriate,” Sotomayor said in the statement released by the Supreme Court. “I regret my hurtful comments. I have apologized to my colleague.”
Sotomayor was at an event April 7 at the University of Kansas School of Law when she criticized Kavanaugh over his stance involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stopping individuals to question them about their immigration status.
Her remarks appeared to reference the Supreme Court’s Sept. 8, 2025, emergency order in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, which allowed immigration enforcement to continue while legal challenges proceed.
The Supreme Court issued a temporary order allowing the practice to continue while the case moves through the courts.
In a concurring opinion, Brett Kavanaugh wrote that such encounters are typically brief and that individuals are generally released quickly.
“I had a colleague in that case who wrote, you know, these are only temporary stops,” Sotomayor said, referencing Kavanaugh, according to Bloomberg. “This is from a man whose parents were professionals. And probably doesn’t really know any person who works by the hour.”
Kavanaugh’s parents were Martha Kavanaugh, an associate judge in Maryland, and Everett Kavanaugh Jr., a Washington lobbyist.
Sotomayor’s parents were Juan Sotomayor, a tool worker with a third-grade education, and Celina Baez, a nurse.
Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University Law School, said Sotomayor’s criticism of Kavanaugh suggested “that he is an out-of-touch elitist.”
“The suggestion is that Kavanaugh has avoided—and continues to avoid—interactions with people who get paid on an hourly basis—while she is more inclusive in her circle of friends. It is obviously false, but more importantly, petty and unfair,” Turley posted April 12 on X.
David French, a former attorney and columnist for The New York Times, said Sotomayor’s comments were “inappropriate.”
By Tom Gantert
