The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is forcefully rejecting accusations of mass racial profiling during recent immigration enforcement operations, but critics, including experts from the Cato Institute, argue the agency’s denials don’t align with on-the-ground accounts.
The controversy stems from a Los Angeles Times investigation that highlighted growing fears within immigrant communities that federal agents are making stops and arrests based largely on appearance rather than solid intelligence.
In a statement posted on its official X (formerly Twitter) account, DHS pushed back: “Any claims that individuals have been ‘targeted’ by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically FALSE. These types of smears are designed to demonize and villainize our brave ICE law enforcement.”
The agency added, “DHS enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence. We know who we are targeting ahead of time. If and when we do encounter individuals subject to arrest, our law enforcement is trained to ask a series of well-determined questions to determine status and removability.”
However, David J. Bier, an immigration policy analyst with the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, quickly challenged the DHS narrative, noting a lack of transparency in the agency’s public defense.
“Of course, they don’t link to the article, which gives the proof that this is happening. DHS LIES,” Bier wrote in a post that included a screenshot from the LA Times article. The report in question begins with the harrowing account of Brian Gavidia, a 29-year-old U.S. citizen who was stopped and questioned by armed agents while working at a tow yard in a Los Angeles suburb.
“Brian Gavidia had stepped out from working on a car… when armed, masked men — wearing vests with ‘Border Patrol’ on them — pushed him up against a metal gate and demanded to know where he was born,” the Times reported. “‘I’m American, bro!’ Gavidia pleaded in a video taken by a friend. ‘What hospital were you born in?’ the agent barked. ‘I don’t know, dawg! East L.A., bro! I can show you: I have my f—ing Real ID.’”
His friend, who narrated the video, added, “These guys, literally based on skin color! My homie was born here!” Eva Bitran, a lawyer with the ACLU of Southern California, reinforced those concerns: “We are seeing ICE come into our communities to do indiscriminate mass arrests of immigrants or people who appear to them to be immigrants, largely based on racial profiling.”
While DHS confirmed that Gavidia was questioned, they emphasized he was not arrested, adding that his friend was detained for allegedly assaulting federal agents—a claim the ACLU and others say further muddles the situation.