Overview

• Andrea Velez said she was detained by plainclothes ICE agents in downtown Los Angeles on June 24 despite showing her driver’s license and insurance card
• Velez alleges officers slammed her to the ground, booked her into custody and denied her water for 24 hours during a two-day detention
• The Department of Justice dropped the criminal complaint against her this month with sources differing on whether it was dismissed with or without prejudice
• Velez’s attorneys are now exploring legal action against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection
• Civil-rights advocates cite Velez’s case as part of a wider pattern of disputed interior-enforcement tactics prompting lawsuits and local legislative proposals