A U.S. citizen is speaking out after she said she was wrongfully detained by immigration agents in downtown Los Angeles.
On June 24, Andrea Velez, 32, was being dropped off at work by her family near 9th and Spring Streets.
She had just stepped out of the car when suddenly, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents surrounded her, forced her to the pavement, and placed her in handcuffs.
“I was just going to work and everything happened so fast,” she recalled. “They didn’t identify themselves, so I was scared.”
Her family was nearby when they witnessed Velez being tackled to the ground. Video from the frantic scene showed a large crowd of bystanders gathered at the site as officers took Velez and others away.
According to the family’s attorney, when Velez’s mother and sister saw two masked men attempting to take her as she was walking, they immediately called the police.
LAPD officers responded to the scene and, instead of helping Velez, her family claims they formed a human shield to prevent onlookers from recording and voicing their concerns over the activity.
“I have a couple of bruises on my body,” Velez said. “One of [the agents] pushed me to the ground.”
Witnesses claimed the agents never asked anyone for ID or proof of citizenship, nor did they present identification of their own.
Video from bystanders showed an agent placing Velez into an unmarked SUV before she was driven away. For 24 hours, her family couldn’t contact or locate her until videos of the raid began to surface on social media.
Her family’s attorney eventually tracked her down. With the help of her family, community advocates and lawyers, she was eventually released on Wednesday night.
Velez, a South L.A. native, is a marketing designer and Cal Poly Pomona graduate. Her family said they are beyond stunned by the incident.
ICE officials claimed Velez was arrested for assaulting an agent and had tried to prevent them from arresting the person they were actually targeting. Gregory Russell, Velez’s attorney, refutes those claims.
“They’re alleging Ms. Velez assaulted an ICE officer,” Russell said. “Now imagine this — you’re just dropped off at work. You’re walking on the sidewalk and a 6-foot man in full armor and weapons, with his face shielded, starts charging at you. And that’s what she experienced. Now, who committed the assault here?”
Velez said she had feared for her life when she was suddenly grabbed by the agents. She believes ICE was targeting other Latino and Hispanic people around her at the time, but she didn’t realize what was happening until she was questioned later on.
“They were just telling me that I was being arrested for interfering or resisting arrest,” she said. “I don’t think I was. I was just resisting because I didn’t know where I was going to end up or who was taking me.”
Velez said the ordeal has left her and her family frightened and shaken up. She said she was simply walking to work and had done nothing to warrant the violent treatment she endured.
“I’m Latina, so I’m pretty sure I was racially profiled,” she said.
KTLA has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for clarification on Velez’s case and whether she will be facing any charges and is awaiting a response.
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