Full Breakdown
Border Patrol Agents Used Racial Slurs During Los Angeles Operations, Court Filing Shows
7/29/2026, 5:41:51 AM
Evidence of Racial Profiling
Body-camera footage and text-message logs submitted in a federal court filing reveal that Border Patrol agents in Los Angeles referred to Latino migrants with the terms “wet” and “tonk.”
Definitions of the Slurs
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow with the American Immigration Council, explained that “wet” is a shortened form of a well-known anti-Latino slur, while “tonk” refers to the metallic sound made when a flashlight is used to strike a migrant’s head.
Background: Greg Bovino’s Leadership
The incidents occurred under the command of former Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, whose tenure has been marked by aggressive crackdowns on migrants and protesters. Bovino was removed from his post after a controversial campaign in Minneapolis that resulted in the fatal shootings of ICE agents Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Since his retirement, he has continued to promote unfounded claims, including the assertion that 100 million people in the United States are undocumented— a figure more than five times the established estimates.
Official Legal Action
The court filing seeks an injunction to bar agents from conducting stops predicated on racial profiling, citing the documented use of slurs as evidence of discriminatory practices. The filing does not include a response from Border Patrol leadership at this stage.
Impact and Reactions
The revelations have intensified scrutiny of Border Patrol’s internal culture and raised concerns about the treatment of Latino communities in Los Angeles. Advocacy groups and civil-rights observers argue that the language documented in the footage reflects a broader pattern of bias that undermines public trust in federal immigration enforcement.
