A U.S. citizen who was arrested by immigration agents on her way to work earlier this week was released on bond Thursday, June 26, at a federal courthouse in Los Angeles.
Andrea Velez’s sister and mom had dropped the marketing designer off for work Tuesday in downtown L.A. moments before masked agents detained her as part of an immigration raid in the area. In the moments after they dropped her off, Velez’s family watched agents grab her arm, push her to the ground and carry her away, leaving her bruised.
“Everything happened so fast,” Velez, 32, said. “And they didn’t identify themselves, so it was kind of scary.”
Her family and lawyers said they couldn’t get answers regarding where she was being held until the following day.
Agents didn’t ask Velez for her ID until after she they had placed her in a vehicle, she said Thursday after her release. When she showed them her California driver’s license, Velez said authorities questioned its validity, and she provided them with more information like her medical insurance. She and her attorneys believe her arrest was a result of racial profiling.
“Our law enforcement need to conduct their official operations in a process that is fair,” said Gregory Russell, an attorney representing Velez in her criminal case. “Not racial profiling, not wearing head coverings, not walking around without ICE clearly marked on their uniforms.”
Federal officials accused Velez of trying to block federal agents and impede their efforts during Tuesday’s immigration enforcement. But Velez and her attorneys say she never tried to stop any arrests and that, because she was much smaller than the agents, she didn’t pose a physical threat.
Luis Carrillo, a lawyer representing the family, told KCAL News that they plan to file a civil lawsuit against the government, claiming wrongful arrest.
“They see people with brown faces and yank them,” Carrillo said. “You see it in the videos all the time. They don’t go into white neighborhoods. They pick out the Latino communities, and that’s where they do their dirty work.”