The Department of Homeland Security is vehemently denying allegations that it engaged in mass racial profiling in its immigration raids, but David J. Bier of the libertarian Cato Institute isn't buying those denials for an instant.
DHS's denials came last week in response to a report by the Los Angeles Times that a number of immigrant communities fear that stops and arrests are being done randomly against people based primarily on their appearance.
"Any claims that individuals have been ‘targeted’ by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically FALSE," DHS posted to its official X account. "These types of smears are designed to demonize and villainize our brave ICE law enforcement. 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."
But Bier couldn't help but notice a telling omission from the denial.
"Of course they don’t link to the article which gives the proof that this is happening. DHS LIES," he wrote, posting a damning passage from the very beginning of the original article.
"Brian Gavidia had stepped out from working on a car at a tow yard in a Los Angeles suburb Thursday, 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!' 29-year-old Gavidia pleaded, in video taken by a friend. 'What hospital were you born?' the agent barked. 'I don’t know, dawg!' he said. 'East L.A., bro! I can show you: I have my f—ing Real ID.' His friend, whom Gavidia did not name, narrated the video: 'These guys, literally based off of skin color! My homie was born here!' The friend said Gavidia was being questioned 'just because of the way he looks.'"
The article also quoted Eva Bitran, a southern California lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, who warned, “We are seeing ICE come into our communities to do indiscriminate mass arrests of immigrants or people who appear to them to be immigrant, largely based on racial profiling.”
DHS continues to dispute these claims, acknowledging Gavidia was questioned by agents but emphasizing he wasn't arrested and claiming that his friend was arrested for attacking Border Patrol agents.