New Evidence Shows Federal Agents Used Slurs in Immigration Sweeps Across 4 Cities
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 11
New Evidence Shows Federal Agents Used Slurs in Immigration Sweeps Across 4 Cities
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 11
Summary
Body-camera footage, text messages and court documents from lawsuits show federal agents used slurs and appearance-based targeting during immigration sweeps in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis and other cities.
Court filings say agents referred to targets as “tonks” and “wet,” and one Southern California operation leader flagged “older Hispanic males” as suspicious.
The evidence strengthens civil-rights claims that the Trump administration’s mass-deportation campaign has relied on racial profiling during aggressive raids that began last year.
The legal fight remains unsettled: Justice Brett Kavanaugh last year gave provisional backing to such profiling in immigration enforcement, and lower-court cases could take months to resolve before any fuller Supreme Court review.
Will upcoming 2026 court battles finally expose the hidden line between lawful immigration enforcement and unconstitutional racial profiling?
Could newly uncovered body camera footage and internal text messages ultimately dismantle the legal defense behind aggressive nationwide sweeps?
"Operation at Large: Systemic Racial Profiling, DHS Contempt, and the Political Fallout of the 2025–2026 Immigration Surge"
Overview
This report uncovers how top-down pressure from the White House and DHS leadership in 2025 led ICE to pursue aggressive arrest quotas, resulting in systemic racial profiling and suspicionless stops that swept up Latino individuals and even U.S. citizens. Despite Supreme Court rulings allowing broader immigration stops, agents relied mainly on ethnicity to justify detentions. The Department of Homeland Security then withheld critical cellphone evidence in court, leading to a contempt order and daily fines. Public outrage grew after fatal shootings during enforcement operations, prompting leadership shakeups and exposing a deep crisis of accountability and trust within federal immigration enforcement.