US citizen arrested during Ice raid in what family describes as ‘kidnapping'
Andrea Velez, 32, had just been dropped off at work by her mother and sister, the pair said, when they saw agents grab her.
'My mom looked at the rear mirror and she saw how my sister was attacked from the back,' Estrella Rosas told ABC7. 'She was like: 'They're kidnapping your sister.''
Velez, a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona, was taken into custody during an immigration raid on Tuesday. In video captured from the scene, agents can be seen surrounding her as a crowd gathers in the street and police officers stand by. Meanwhile, Rosas and her mother, who has residency but is not a citizen, screamed from a nearby vehicle for help.
'She's a US citizen,' Rosas said through tears. 'They're taking her. Help her, someone.'
In other video, an agent can be seen lifting Velez off the ground and carrying her away. Witnesses told media, including CBS Los Angeles, that the agents never asked Velez for identification, and that she did nothing wrong.
'The only thing wrong with her … was the color of her skin,' Velez's mother, Margarita Flores, told CBS Los Angeles.
The incident comes as numerous US citizens have been swept up in the Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants. People have reported they are being targeted for their skin color and for attempting to aid immigrants being detained by immigration agents.
While it's not yet clear how many citizens have been affected by the administration's attack on immigrant communities, a government report found that between 2015 and 2020, Ice erroneously deported at least 70 US citizens, arrested 674 and detained 121.
Velez's family was unaware of her whereabouts for more than a day until attorneys for the family tracked her down. 'It took us four hours to find her and we're attorneys. That's crazy,' attorney Dominique Boubion told ABC7.
'Just to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and you have the full weight of the federal government against you and your family can't find you – it is very scary.'
Authorities have not told lawyers what charges Velez faces, but an official with the Department of Homeland Security told media that she was arrested for assaulting an Ice officer. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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