The Department of Homeland Security is facing renewed scrutiny after declining to say whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents violated agency policy by allegedly using anti-Latino slurs during immigration operations in California, even as newly filed court documents cite body-camera footage and internal communications as evidence. The allegations surfaced in an ongoing federal civil rights lawsuit challenging the legality of large-scale immigration enforcement actions carried out in Southern California during 2025.
The case centers on Operation at Large, a series of immigration enforcement sweeps conducted across Southern California last summer. Plaintiffs allege federal agents relied on racial profiling when stopping, questioning and, in some instances, detaining Latino residents, including U.S. citizens. The newly submitted evidence, they argue, provides insight into the language and attitudes used by officers during those operations.
According to the court filings, body-camera recordings and text messages show agents referring to Hispanic and Latino individuals using terms widely recognized as anti-Latino slurs. Among the language cited are the terms "wets" and "tonks," expressions that plaintiffs argue reflect discriminatory attitudes toward migrants and Latino communities.
One body-camera recording cited in the filing captures an officer describing a man seated inside a vehicle by saying, "There was a guy, I'm pretty sure he's wet, he was just sitting in that minivan," using what the filing describes as a shortened version of a longstanding ethnic slur directed at Mexican immigrants.
Civil rights advocates argue the language extends beyond offensive speech and supports broader allegations that race improperly influenced enforcement decisions. Mayra Joachim, deputy director of immigrants' rights at the ACLU of Southern California, which filed the lawsuit, said the evidence should alarm both the courts and the public.
"This filing should shock the conscience," Joachim said. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of several individuals who contend they were unlawfully stopped or detained during the enforcement operations despite having no lawful basis for immigration enforcement action.
When asked directly by ABC News whether the alleged language violated DHS policy, the department did not answer the question. Instead, a DHS spokesperson shifted attention away from the allegations themselves.
"Our agents are focused on protecting the American people, not entertaining performative outrage," the spokesperson said.
The department also redirected attention toward crimes committed by immigrants living in the United States unlawfully, asking, "Where is the media's outrage for Angel families who lost a loved one to illegal alien crime?" DHS did not indicate whether the agents identified in the court filings would face internal review, disciplinary action or additional training, nor did it clarify whether the alleged remarks violated departmental standards governing employee conduct.
The legal dispute extends beyond the language captured in the recordings. Earlier in the litigation, U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting immigration agents from stopping individuals based solely on race or ethnicity. The U.S. Supreme Court later stayed that order, allowing the challenged enforcement practices to continue while the litigation proceeds through the federal courts.
Plaintiffs argue the newly disclosed recordings reinforce their broader claim that ethnicity, rather than individualized suspicion, influenced enforcement decisions during Operation at Large. Teresa Romero, president of the United Farm Workers, which is among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said the effects of those operations continue to be felt in agricultural communities across California.
"A year ago, farm workers across California were terrorised by brutal and unconstitutional raids based on racial and class profiling," Romero said, adding that the fear created by those operations has persisted long after the raids concluded.
