ACLU presents evidence of ICE agents using Latino slurs in texts and video

Court filings reveal ICE officers in Los Angeles referred to Latinos with derogatory terms in body-camera footage and text messages, prompting civil-rights groups to seek an injunction against racially based stops.

Body-camera recordings and forensic analysis of agents' phones, obtained by the ACLU and allies, capture ICE officers in Los Angeles using offensive language like “tonk” and “wet” to describe Latino individuals during operations, including a June raid at a Hollywood Home Depot. In a motion for a preliminary injunction, the plaintiffs contend that these communications prove a systematic, suspicionless pattern of stops based on perceived Latino ethnicity, violating the standards set by a prior Supreme Court decision.

Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ordered the government to turn over the records after the Court temporarily lifted an earlier ban on such profiling. Attorneys cite internal emails indicating a shift from targeted investigations to mass “collateral” arrests, with agents discussing “soft counts” and “roving patrols.” The Department of Homeland Security responded that agents focus on public safety, while civil-rights lawyers argue the evidence shows racism is the primary driver of the enforcement actions. The filing seeks to restrict agents from relying on ethnicity alone, except when linked to a known target description.