Starting in December 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) launched “Operation Metro Surge," an operation aimed at arresting and deporting undocumented immigrants, in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. In the midst of the operation, CBP and ICE agents were involved in many controversies regarding but not limited to their use of force and conduct. On January 24th, 2026, CBP agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a bystander who expressed disapproval over the deportation operations but was not engaged in any obvious obstructive or violent conduct. Days later, the media leaked the names of the CBP agents who shot and killed Alex Pretti. The names of these agents indicated that they were Latino. Hence, a contradiction. Latinos are participating in a government-led operation intended to target people from Latin American communities. They were serving an ultraconservative agenda that invokes white supremacist rhetoric to justify curbing immigration. 

An emerging undercurrent in the far right in the United States is a coalition that includes Latino Americans. From high-profile right wing figures, such as Enrique Tarrio and Nicholas Fuentes, to unknowns like those serving in CBP or ICE, some Latinos are embracing far-right politics as they grapple with their Latino identity and their status within the United States. There are many ways that this phenomenon can be explained. This blog explores the contradictions between being Latino in the United States and holding far-right views. Some Latinos struggle with a feeling of not being accepted as part of the “in” group, that their Latinidad otherizes them. For a few, embracing white supremacy is a source of identity. However many Latino far-right activists reject the notion that they believe in white supremacy, often invoking their Latino heritage.

Latinos are participating in a government-led operation intended to target people from Latin American communities.

Enrique Tarrio is a former leader of the Proud Boys who perhaps most notably participated in the organization of the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol. He is of mixed Afro-Cuban descent. Tarrio frequently claims that he is not a white supremacist, and invokes his African descent to shield himself from accusations. He doesn’t like being labeled a white supremacist and rejects the label, stating, “I denounce white supremacy. I denounce anti-Semitism. I denounce racism. I denounce fascism”. However, he has a track record of engaging in extremist rhetoric and action. Tarrio was convicted of seditious conspiracy for participating in and leading the January 6 storming of the Capitol.

Another prominent far-right Latino activist is Nicholas Fuentes. Fuentes is a political commentator and activist who has openly endorsed white supremacy, antisemitism, and anti-immigrant policy, while influencing mostly young conservative males. His father is half-Mexican, although Fuentes refrains from acknowledging a Latino identity. The way in which Fuentes demonstrates far-right politics with the Latino community is not uncommon. Many immigrants bring prejudices and biases with them from Latin America, where slavery and racial hierarchies were common. Fuentes though is someone who would not consider himself influenced by his Latino heritage; rather, he proclaims that himself a white nationalist. This phenomenon demonstrates the obfuscation of Latino identity among many multi-generation immigrants. Some experience a detachment from the immigrant story; they only speak English, and there is a desire to not be seen as a foreigner. To some Latinos, particularly young people and those detached from the immigration process, far-right politics provides a sense of belonging, that one is not a foreigner.

This phenomenon of Latino support for white supremacy in the United States is not at all a new occurrence. During the Civil War, the Confederates drew support from some land owning Latinos, particularly in the state of Texas. These Latinos participated in patrols to capture runaway slaves during the war. A Tejano, Santos Benavides, often ventured into Mexico to capture runaway slaves in return for compensation. During the US Civil War, he became a high-ranking officer in the Confederate Army, possibly the highest ranking Tejano. Throughout US history, there have been instances of Latinos acting to support and maintain white supremacy.