ICE Agents Accused of Using Racial Slurs in Los Angeles Operations
Court documents released recently reveal that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents deployed in the Los Angeles area last summer allegedly used racial slurs during immigration enforcement operations.
On July 4, 2025, an unnamed operative reportedly texted, “By the way, right now there are Ton’s all over Long Beach selling food for the 4th Festival,” prompting a wave of anti-immigrant slurs that had previously garnered warnings from the U.S. Border Patrol.
In another exchange on July 2, 2025, an agent commented, “Some of you are stupid. Why would you post on social media that you’re wet?” This statement used a derogatory term historically employed to demean undocumented Mexicans who crossed the Rio Grande, the river extending from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico.
The terms “Tonks” and “Wet” appeared in multiple communications among agents, shedding light on ingrained prejudices within the agency.
This troubling behavior came to light in a complaint filed in June 2025 by five men against the Trump administration, claiming that the actions of ICE agents during a raid in Los Angeles were unlawful. Their lawyers have urged a federal judge to ban further detentions based on race or socio-economic status.
Notably, in June 2025, three of the plaintiffs were arrested while waiting at a bus stop after work. Another plaintiff described being forcefully questioned by masked immigration officers, during which he asserted his status as a U.S. citizen.
Maya Joachin, the deputy director of immigrant rights at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, stated in a press release that the evidence reveals a “pattern of racial profiling.” She accused immigration officials of blatant legal violations by detaining individuals primarily based on their skin color.
Angel Santiago Tafolla, a U.S. citizen living in Anaheim and not involved in the lawsuit, recounted in a court statement his experience when ICE agents arrived at the car wash where he worked in Orange County. He was handcuffed and placed in a van until it was confirmed he was a citizen. “Other colleagues who are light-skinned also ran away, but they weren’t chased. I’m a dark-skinned Latino, so I feel like I was chased,” Tafolla explained.
In a December deposition, the ICE officer overseeing the bus stop operation stated that loiterers seeking work were reported as potentially being in the country illegally, specifically referencing their description as “older Hispanic men.”
The raid faced significant backlash from local and state officials. Tensions escalated when President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard, claiming that Los Angeles needed to be “liberated” from what he described as “immigrant infiltration,” which ignited protests against the ICE presence.
In a response to CalMatters regarding the new court filing, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson stated, “Our investigators are focused on protecting the American people, not reveling in theatrical outrage.” However, DHS has not yet responded to inquiries from the Guardian.
