Masked agents are reportedly targeting Hispanic and Latino individuals in aggressive immigration sweeps across Southern California, arresting people with no probable cause and detaining them in harsh, “dungeon-like” conditions without access to legal counsel, according to a new federal lawsuit.
Filed Wednesday in the Central District of California, the suit accuses the Trump administration of orchestrating sweeping raids across street corners, bus stops, parking lots, farms, and day-labor locations in Los Angeles—describing an environment “under siege.” Many agents are said to be dressed in military-style gear. The plaintiffs, represented by immigrant-rights groups and U.S. citizens, are seeking an immediate halt to what they call constitution-violating tactics.
“These agents are popping up across the city, randomly detaining people, and we want it to stop,” said Mohammad Tajsar, ACLU of Southern California attorney.
One named plaintiff, U.S. dual citizen Jorge Hernandez Viramontes, reported being stopped at a car wash on June 18 by agents who failed to identify themselves. Though Hernandez Viramontes showed his ID, agents reportedly dismissed it and insisted on his passport. He was temporarily taken into custody, questioned, then released without apology and without explanation—and the car wash was later raided again. The lawsuit argues that such tactics terrorize residents for merely “looking Latino.”
Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel added, “They claim this is about public safety—but what it really accomplishes is terrorizing nannies, car-wash workers, and farm laborers.”
Department of Homeland Security figure Tricia McLaughlin has dismissed these allegations as “disgusting and categorically false,” saying their focus is on well-researched targets—not random street sweeps.
DHS data cited in the complaint notes that between June 6–22, agents carried out 1,618 arrests in the Los Angeles area—many by roving teams deploying at gas stations, hardware stores, and parking lots—with most detainees having no criminal history.
The lawsuit also charges the administration with dismantling internal oversight systems and removing accountability measures, including shutting down key monitoring offices.
Once detained, immigrants are reportedly held in a makeshift downtown processing center and ICE’s “B‑18” basement facility under squalid conditions, denied basic rights like counsel, adequate food, water, hygiene, medical care, and rest—conditions plaintiffs say are unconstitutional and may pressure detainees into “voluntary departures” to dodge formal removal proceedings.
The suit follows a similar complaint filed June 20 by immigration attorney Stacy Tolchin, who alleges that armed agents swooped in without warrants, surrounding clients at bus stops with no legal justification.
Tajsar emphasized, “We’re not opposing immigration enforcement. We’re demanding that it be lawful—stopping people without justification is blatantly illegal.”
