US citizen detained by ICE recounts expertise – NBC Los Angeles
A Los Angeles-born lady who was arrested by federal officers throughout an immigration raid earlier this summer time recounted the expertise she mentioned left an enduring affect on her.
Andrea Velez mentioned she was left traumatized after she was slammed to the bottom by brokers and endured tough situations whereas in custody. She shared that she nonetheless will get flashbacks to that day and has been working from residence since her launch due to her trauma.
“I’m taking issues day-to-day,” she mentioned.
Velez, a U.S. citizen, works in downtown Los Angeles as a manufacturing coordinator for a shoe firm. She mentioned that on June 24, her mom and sister had simply dropped her off at work. Close by, federal brokers had been current.
“It was like a scene,” she mentioned. “They had been simply able to assault and chase.”
Sooner or later, Velez mentioned she felt a person seize and slam her to the ground. She tried to inform the agent, who was in plain garments, that she is a U.S. citizen.
“He mentioned I used to be interfering with what he was doing, so he was going to arrest me,” she mentioned. “That’s after I requested him to point out me his ID, his badge quantity. I requested him if he had a warrant and he mentioned I didn’t have to know any of that.”
Velez mentioned as officers processed her right into a detention middle in downtown Los Angeles, she once more tried to inform them that she was a U.S. citizen and did nothing flawed.
“They didn’t consider me, so I gave them my actual ID and driver’s license, and even my Kaiser medical insurance card,” she mentioned.
The Montecito Heights resident spent a complete of two days within the detention middle. She mentioned she wasn’t given any water for twenty-four hours.
After being launched, the Division of Justice dismissed her case with prejudice, which means her case is quickly closed. A spokesperson from the division declined to remark.
Velez’s attorneys are actually exploring authorized motion towards U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Safety.
