Overview
- On June 24, ICE agents wearing masks and plainclothes detained 32-year-old Andrea Velez, a U.S. citizen, outside her workplace in downtown Los Angeles using unmarked vehicles.
- LAPD officers who responded to a 911 call reporting a potential kidnapping said they did not assist in the arrest and remained only to de-escalate the scene and clear traffic.
- Velez’s family still does not know where she is being held and DHS claims she was arrested for assaulting an ICE officer, while rights advocates allege she was targeted based on her appearance.
- California lawmakers have introduced the “No Secret Police Act” to require all law enforcement to display agency names, badge numbers and uncovered faces during operations.
- ICE Director Todd Lyons defends the use of masks for officer safety, but local officials from Los Angeles to Pasadena warn that uncoordinated, unmarked raids undermine public trust.