U.S. citizen Andrea Velez detained by ICE during street sweep, denied water, later released on bond
Oct 26, 2025 · Los Angeles, CA

Andrea Guadalupe Velez, a 32-year-old U.S. citizen and Cal Poly Pomona graduate, was detained by ICE agents in downtown Los Angeles on June 24, 2025, when she was dropped off at work during a street sweep operation targeting vendors. Agents arrested her after she stepped into the path of an officer attempting to apprehend another individual. Velez was charged with assaulting a federal officer and reported being denied water for 24 hours while held at a detention center and unable to contact the outside world for much of her detention, which lasted more than two days. A federal judge ordered her released on $5,000 bond. The Justice Department later dismissed her case without prejudice. On August 20, Velez filed a federal tort claim alleging racial profiling and wrongful arrest; she is one of six claimants represented by the Carrillo Law Firm alleging similar misconduct by ICE and Border Patrol in Southern California.
Timeline
Sources
- NBC News (archived)
- NBC News (archived)
- nbcsandiego.com (archived)
- NBC News (archived)
- nbcbayarea.com (archived)
- latestnewstodays.pages.dev (archived)
- Los Angeles Times (archived)
- Associated Press (archived)
- us.cnn.com (archived)
- abc7news.com (archived)
- thin.npr.org (archived)
- sfist.com (archived)
- Sacramento Bee (archived)
- kansascity.com (archived)
- WLRN (archived)
- 19thnews.org (archived)
- ProPublica (archived)
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