(IMAGN) Mexican National Guard troops keep guard near the border wall near an area where U.S. troops worked on infrastructure in Tijuana, Mexico on March 4, 2025.
Fresno, California – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will retrain more than 900 Border Patrol agents in California following backlash over controversial immigration sweeps earlier this year in Kern County. The move comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which alleges that the raids violated constitutional protections against arbitrary arrest.
In January, Border Patrol agents from the El Centro sector carried out what was called “Operation Return to Sender,” targeting locations frequented by farmworkers and day laborers, including a Home Depot and several roadside gathering areas near orchards. Witnesses say individuals were indiscriminately stopped and asked to show immigration papers, with 77 of the 78 people arrested having no prior criminal or immigration history, according to a CalMatters investigation.
Though Border Patrol leadership claimed the operation focused on individuals with criminal records or deportation orders, the ACLU argues the sweeps were based on racial profiling. “The law doesn’t permit Border Patrol to assume that people are violating immigration law because they’re Brown,” said ACLU attorney Bree Bernwanger.
In a filing to the U.S. District Court in Fresno, DHS stated that while it does not admit wrongdoing, it has issued new legal guidance and will train El Centro agents to comply with Fourth Amendment standards. The new directive, issued April 4, prohibits warrantless arrests unless there is both probable cause of immigration violations and a risk the individual will flee. Agents are now required to justify vehicle stops with “specific, articulable facts” and document them in formal reports.
Still, civil rights advocates remain skeptical. “It’s just a pinky swear,” said Elizabeth Strater, vice president of United Farm Workers, a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit. “It’s a policy that could be withdrawn or changed at any time.”
The lawsuit includes sworn accounts from several individuals affected by the sweeps. One man described being yanked from a group outside a Home Depot and suffering injuries during the encounter. Another woman, a greenhouse worker with no criminal record, was forcibly expelled to Mexico. A U.S. citizen said his work truck tires were slashed by agents during a stop based, he believes, solely on his appearance.
A hearing in the case is scheduled for April 28 in Fresno’s U.S. District Court.
