ICE agents used racial slurs during Los Angeles crackdown, court files show
Newly released court documents reveal that ICE agents deployed in Los Angeles last summer used racial slurs against immigrants. A lawsuit against the Trump administration alleges the arrests were unlawful and based on race.
Court documents unsealed Monday show that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents used racial slurs during immigration operations in the Los Angeles area last July. On July 4, 2025, an unidentified agent texted about "tonks" — an anti-immigrant slur — selling food, and on July 2, another message used "wet," a derogatory term for undocumented Mexicans.
The records were filed in a lawsuit brought by five men against the Trump administration in June 2025, claiming unlawful stops and arrests during the raids. Three plaintiffs were arrested at a bus stop while waiting for work rides. A fourth, a U.S. citizen, had his arm twisted and was pushed against a gate by masked agents despite asserting his citizenship. Lawyers seek a court order barring future detentions based on race or socioeconomic status.
Maya Joachin, deputy director of immigrants' rights at the ACLU of Southern California, called the documents evidence of "a pattern of racial profiling," stating officers are violating the law by detaining people without justification, often because of skin color.
Angel Santiago Tafolla, a U.S. citizen from Anaheim not part of the lawsuit, testified that ICE agents swept through his workplace, a car wash in Orange County. He was handcuffed and placed in a van before agents realized he was a citizen. "Other co-workers who are light-skinned also ran, but they were not chased. I feel that I was chased because I am a darker-skinned Latino," he said.
In a December deposition, the ICE officer leading the bus stop operation admitted that individuals loitering for work were flagged as potentially undocumented, describing them as "older Hispanic males."
The raids drew strong backlash from local officials. President Trump sent the National Guard to Los Angeles, citing a need to "liberate" the city from a "migrant invasion," sparking protests. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told CalMatters the agents are focused on protecting Americans, not "performative outrage." DHS did not comment to the Guardian.
