'See bodies, chase bodies.' What immigration agents' body cameras, texts reveal about L.A. raids

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Set us as preferred Little was known about how federal immigration enforcement operations were coordinated in Los Angeles last year.But that changed this week when hundreds of pages of court exhibits — released through discovery in a federal lawsuit — provided a glimpse into the operations.They revealed random, rather than targeted, stops, a casual use of racial slurs, and apparent frustration among a few officers who feared they were being asked to break the law.The exhibits were included in a motion for a preliminary injunction filed Monday by the American Civil Liberties Union, Public Counsel, and other groups and private attorneys seeking to bar an “ongoing campaign of suspicionless and discriminatory detentive stops” in the Central District of CaliforniaAmong the newly released records is the testimony of a Border Patrol agent who described how officers selected the site of a June 18 raid at a Whittier car wash.

According to the agent, the team searched Google for nearby car washes and the Whittier business was chosen because “that was one of the places that came on the list as the nearest location.”The following month, when a phalanx of Border Patrol agents showed up outside a news conference held by leading California Democrats — including Gov.Gavin Newsom — a Homeland Security Investigations agent texted another HSI agent that the operation was “political” and “a stunt.”A Homeland Security spokesperson at the time claimed that agents were “focused on enforcing the law, not on [Newsom].” But the agent saw it otherwise, observing that Border Patrol “essentially raided the Newsom press conferences.”“We got pulled off the [Home Depot] and car wash to run this stunt,” the agent said.

“We’re told to assist with targeted enforcement ...That is not target enforcement.”“That was just a political agenda,” the agent said.

“Hopefully I can get replaced soon.”The co...