Civil Rights Groups Submit Evidence of Racial Slurs by ICE

Civil rights groups have filed new evidence in federal court alleging that immigration agents in Los Angeles used racial slurs and engaged in systematic racial profiling during widespread enforcement operations last year. The motion, filed on July 28, 2026, asks a judge to block agents from making stops based on perceived ethnicity or class.

The filing includes body camera footage and text messages from agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, obtained through court-ordered discovery. The evidence depicts agents using derogatory terms like "tonk" and "wet" to refer to Latinos while planning and conducting operations in the summer of 2025. In one video clip, an agent is heard saying, "Yeah, just plug us in wherever you see some tonks and we'll jump out." Another agent, after a June 2025 operation at a Hollywood Home Depot, stated, "There was a guy, I'm pretty sure he's wet," using a slur for immigrants. Text messages similarly referenced "tonks everywhere selling food."

Attorneys for the plaintiffs, which include the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, Public Counsel, and immigrant worker organizations, argue the language proves that...