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…