Federal immigration agents in the Los Angeles area have been accused of using racist slurs and targeting Latino people based on their appearance, according to a new court filing. The allegations are contained in a motion for a preliminary injunction in the case Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California.
The motion includes deposition testimony from a federal agent who allegedly acknowledged that enforcement practices have continued despite a change in name. Body camera footage also shows one Department of Homeland Security agent reportedly telling another: “Yeah, just plug us in wherever you see some tonks.” The ACLU says “tonks” is a derogatory term referring to the sound of a flashlight striking a migrant’s head. Other agents were allegedly heard speculating whether people were “wet,” described as a racist slur derived from “wetback.”
The plaintiffs argue that the stops violate the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures and the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection, alleging agents relied on race rather than individualized suspicion. Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, said: “The evidence doesn't lie: these arrests were never about safety, they were about skin color.”
U.S. District Judge Maame E. Frimpong has scheduled a Sept. 24 status conference to consider the request for a preliminary injunction. The motion relies on body camera footage and sworn depositions that the judge ordered the government to produce after the U.S. Supreme Court stayed an earlier temporary restraining order in the case last year.
The lawsuit was filed in July 2025 by residents, workers and immigrant advocacy groups. The Department of Homeland Security and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
