Federal agents allegedly used racial slurs in regard to Latinos while carrying out “suspicionless and discriminatory” immigration-enforcement stops in the Los Angeles area, according to a federal court filing.
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The allegations came in a motion for a case asking that a federal court block agents from conducting what the plaintiffs contend are warrantless stops targeting “people who appear Latino and low-income or working-class,” according to the document.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, the stops in California have continued even after last summer’s street raids ceased.
“We’re (still) doing the same thing just with a different name,” a federal agent said in a deposition cited in the motion filed Monday, July 27 in Los Angeles federal court.
In a video also discussed in the filing, one U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent said to another: “Yeah, just plug us in wherever you see some tonks,” while other agents guessed whether people were “wet” simply based on appearance.
According to the ACLU, “tonks” is a derogatory term referring to the sound of a flashlight striking a migrant’s head. “Wet” is short for “wetback,” a racist slur historically directed at Mexican and other Latino immigrants crossing the Rio Grande.
A message requesting comment sent to a DHS representative was not immediately answered. The White House press office did not immediately respond to a similar request.
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U.S. District Judge Maame E. Frimpong set Sept. 24 for discussing the motion.
The filing includes body-camera footage and depositions of federal agents as part of evidence ordered by Frimpong.
Plaintiffs argue the Constitution prohibits law enforcement from using race as a substitute for individualized suspicion. The motion alleges the stops violated both the Fourth Amendment and the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.
“Our communities have been denouncing foul play from day one,” Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, a plaintiff in the case, said in a statement on Tuesday, July 28. “The evidence doesn’t lie: These arrests were never about safety, they were about skin color. … Our communities deserve better.”
Residents, workers and advocacy groups sued DHS in July 2025, alleging unconstitutional stop and detention practices by agents tied to arbitrary enforcement quotas. The judge initially issued a temporary restraining order limiting certain enforcement actions. However, in August 2025, the Supreme Court granted the government’s request to stay that order while litigation proceeds, allowing the challenged practices to continue.
“A year ago, farm workers across California were terrorized by brutal and unconstitutional raids based on racial and class profiling,” said Teresa Romero, president of the United Farm Workers, also a plaintiff. “Today, the fear left behind by those raids continues. Farm workers go to work afraid they may not come home, even as they put food on all of our tables. America owes the workers who feed it much better. The workers who feed this country deserve so much better.”
Read more ACLU: Immigration agents used racial slurs to target Latinos during Southern California raids