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. When asked directly by ABC News whether the alleged language violated DHS policy, the department did not answer the question. 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.