Video and text messages obtained by the ACLU of Southern California allegedly show federal immigration officers using racial slurs for Latino people while carrying out stops in Los Angeles. The material has been submitted in court as part of a bid to restrict allegedly suspicionless and racially discriminatory immigration enforcement, raising questions about whether officers relied on ethnicity rather than individual evidence.

The filing reportedly includes officers using the terms “wet” and “tonk”, alongside footage suggesting agents were directed towards Latino people. Civil-rights groups are seeking a preliminary injunction against stops based on perceived Latino ethnicity, while the dispute follows earlier court action limiting immigration stops based on race, language, location or occupation.