Alleged Racial Profiling by Immigration Agents in Los Angeles

Plaintiffs in *Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem* contend that federal immigration agents used racial slurs—including “wet” and “tonks”—to identify and stop Latino individuals during a sweep of Los Angeles last year. A Border Patrol agent’s body-camera footage records the remark, “There was a guy, I’m pretty sure he’s wet he was just sitting in that minivan.” The filing argues that these terms were employed as shorthand for targeting “Older Hispanic male” suspects, violating the Constitution’s ban on unreasonable searches and seizures.

Calmatters

The plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, asking U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong to bar the alleged profiling. Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and allied groups assert that the practice was not a rogue method but a policy explicitly endorsed by agency leadership.

Calmatters

In 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued guidance stating that the term “tonk” is inappropriate because of its derogatory connotation. Despite that, the court documents show agents continued to use the slur in 2025-2026 operations. Deposition testimony from an ICE agent acknowledges that the current sweep mirrors the earlier “Operation at Large,” merely under a different name.

Calmatters

The federal government reported that out of roughly 1,400 Border Patrol agents involved in the Los Angeles operations, more than half used personal cell phones. It asked agents to upload data to a government repository, a compromise negotiated with the union. Only 88 agents have voluntarily turned in phones, and none have been forensically imaged. Officials estimate “200-300” phones remain to be processed, noting that imaging proceeds at a rate of three government phones every two weeks.

Calmatters

• “There was a guy, I’m pretty sure he’s wet he was just sitting in that minivan.” — Hollywood Home Depot

Calmatters