JemmyAnother case of ICE disappearing an American citizen
Sundraywww.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/family-members-…
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/46837699
The family members of a U.S. citizen who was taken into custody by federal agents in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday are demanding answers as she was detained while on her way to work.
Andrea Velez, a Cal Poly Pomona grad working in merchandising at a shoe company, had just been dropped off by her mother and sister for the workday when they saw her being taken into custody, adding they had barely even driven a block before the arrest began.
"They didn't have vests that said ICE or anything," said Velez's sister Estrella Rosas. "Their cars didn't have license plates."
She says that her mother was driving away when she looked in her rearview mirror at what was described by police as immigration enforcement.
"In the rear mirror she saw my sister was kinda, like, attacked from the back and she was already on the floor," Rosas said.
Video shows a growing crowd of onlookers yelling as officers surround the 32-year-old woman. Her family members were too scared to get out, as Rosas' mother has residency but not full U.S. citizenship.
They're also worried that Velez may have been holding pepper spray, which they say she always carries in her hand when walking downtown, when agents approached her.
Witnesses told CBS News Los Angeles that no one asked for her identification, but her family believes that it was nothing she actually did that led to her arrest, but rather the way she looks.
"Just because of the color of our skin, they think we're criminals," Rosas said. "My sister was there, so they were like, 'Oh, she looks Hispanic, so let's take her too.'"
As of Tuesday night, they have still not been able to find out where Velez is being held and are worried it could be days before they finally do.
CBS News Los Angeles has reached out to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement for information on Velez's arrest but has not yet heard back. An inquiry was also made asking how agents check a person's status when they first come into contact, and how they find the people they're targeting in enforcement operations.
Some of the video circulating online, showing Velez's arrest, also shows a group of Los Angeles police who appear to be aiding federal agents in the immigration operations.
Later Tuesday, officers told CBS News Los Angeles that they were called to the area after receiving a 911 call reporting a kidnapping at the location. When they arrived, they say that they saw that a federal immigration operation was underway and stayed to maintain peace because they were concerned by the growing crowd and the federal agents.
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HocEnimVeniThis is why the black panthers carried AK's
I agree, unfortunately. If these people aren’t going to properly identify themselves & instead drive around in unmarked cars with masks on, what makes them any different than a criminal? How do we know they aren’t criminals? If a criminal mimics this behavior, what’s to stop them?
These current tactics are shadowy & undermining rule of law (nevermind the behavior much farther up the chain). There has to be some way to validate this as state activity. Otherwise, we’ll get more copy cat criminals where the public can’t provide any meaningful facts.
what makes them any different than a criminal?
Given that they're committing crimes, they literally ARE criminals. Abducting people without due process is kidnapping no matter who you are.
halcyoncmdrThat's when California started restricting firearms so heavily, under Republican leadership at the time.
The Republicans love to talk about CA gun restrictions, and conveniently leave out that they started it specifically to undermine citizens expressing their 2nd amendment rights in the state.
BigFig
AJMaxwellSomeone is going to shoot an ICE "officer" before summer's over
SuiXi3DLater Tuesday, officers told CBS News Los Angeles that they were called to the area after receiving a 911 call reporting a kidnapping at the location. When they arrived, they say that they saw that a federal immigration operation was underway and stayed to maintain peace because they were concerned by the growing crowd and the federal agents.
remember, calling the police won't save you or someone else from being abducted, they'll just "keep the peace" (read: keep any bystanders from saving you) while you are.
BoofStrokeHow long before somebody lights these fuckers up?
Ask any MAGA citizen what they would do if the feds came to illegally ship them or their loved ones to some random 3rd world country, but see how quickly they'll call you a terrorist for doing the same
You can ask a MAGA person almost anything and get a "I'm a hardass" type answer. However, the reality is many are cowardly little shits.
ThePowerOfGeekThis lady was the second person arrested by them during this timeframe. The first person, a guy who was apparently defending a tamale street vendor, might have also been a US citizen.
ZachariahI presume they’re all U.S. citizens until proven otherwise in court.
Of course it’s another pretty young woman. These people are just human traffickers, not law enforcement.
Darkassassin07For months, masked individuals with no police agency markings have been leaping out of unmarked vehicles that have no licence plates, refusing to identify themselves in any way, then kidnapping people off of the streets; and not one of them has faced any true resistance.
What the fucked has happened to America. Is "hey don't do that", really all you've got???
Eventually, they will hit a citizen carrying. Until then, they won't stop.
I'm in Texas and I'm really shocked it hasn't happened yet.
LasherzThanks to Elon, they do have records of all FOID cards. This probably plays a role in arrests already.
I recon they're doing this in California because California has such strict gun laws
vaultdweller013That works brilliantly right until some Cholo rams a bayonet they bought at a flee market into their gut. I ain't making fun of them, Cholos and flee markets are great.
Even then, they won't stop, they'll play the victim after shooting the guy. If you shoot back, even if you didn't know they were police or federal agents you'll still get prosecuted.
BigBenis*Executed, extra judicially
Ain't no way these fucks are going to let up at the opportunity to unload their mags into anybody who shoots at them.
I don't think you'll get prosecuted. I think you'll get dead. Pigs have never cared about due process, and they love to act aggrieved and play the victim to further justify their inexcusable brutality.
DarkFutureWhat the fucked has happened to America.
We didn't create legislation to prevent propaganda networks from brainrotting the dumbest segment of our population.
We also have a treasonous party abdicating their responsibilities and ceding their power to an authoritarian while making gaslighting Americans and disenfranchising voters their entire policy platform.
What if this wasn’t ICE, but human traffickers? Is there even a difference these days?
BakkodaThe one good thing about this administration is that the cancer has been drawn out like the poison from a wound. Now, everyone can see it. This problem has been festering like a wound since the enactment of Civil Rights laws. But it has been burried. It was there. It always was. Just out of sight, thus out of mind. Look around everyone. Look at who is doing this. Never forget, and never forgive.
The problem is you're asking for cognizance from the population of "I'm not affected therefore it's not a real problem". This will not change until a blonde white girl they can rally to their cause is accidentally deported
Remember. Shoot first. Determine whether they were ICE or human traffickers later since they didn't provide identification.
Actually, ICE are human traffickers considering we know, as a fact, that they've kidnapped actual American citizens.
So yeah, just shoot.
Didn't Biden deport over 4 million without needing gestapo tactics? It's clear that even the deportations aren't really the main goal, it's fear and repression of the population.
And it's being reported that Trump is even deporting people at a lower rate compared to Biden, which is very telling when you consider how little attention this was getting with Biden.
I get that I’m no longer with the lingo, but “disappearing someone” sounds off. Same with “unaliving someone,” but I get trying to get around online filters. Is there something wrong with saying “kidnapped” or “abducted”?
theneverfoxNo, disappearing someone is a way worse subcategory of kidnapping
When you disappear someone, no one knows if they're alive or dead, where they are, or what's going to happen to them. They could be dead immediately, or dropped off at home in 3 years. Or they could be dropped off in Somalia with no ID and no money
To me “disappearing someone” sounds off compared to “making them disappear.”
Well, making someone disappear could be all kinds of things depending on the context
Disappearing someone is something done by spooks and special police. It has specific implications
"Disappearing someone" goes back a ways. It's more than kidnapping or abduction because it is an action taken by authoritarian regimes to not just kidnap someone but, generally make it nearly impossible to locate them, often with torture and/or murder and ensuring that the body isn't found. The goal is to terrorize the populace by making dissidents and others in targeted populations disappear without a trace, effectively erasing them from their communities. This is coupled with tacit refusal of anyone in government that is supposed to help to get involved.
ICE is openly committing terrorist acts in the exact same way that the gestapo and stasi did.
Yep, CIA backed regimes would fly people out over the ocean and drop them out of the helicopter. The family would never know what happened to them.
I've seen it explained elsewhere and it makes sense to me. Kidnapping usually implies a person being taken with the intention of negotiating for their release, where disappeared is more often associated with avoidance of giving any substantial information to a party seeking their return.
ssillyssadassIf you are standing by watching as the gestapo commits genocide, you are aiding the gestapo. Think about that when it's your turn to be a bystander.
I keep looking for the helpers, as Mr Rogers said to do, but I’m not seeing much help.
I put up signs at least. I try to leave zines and literature and argue with people online.
I know there is more to be done, but I don’t know. I hope that there is some justice done, and that I am doing enough.
If you don't see the helpers, you need to be the helper. The bystander effect is a real thing.
I’m genuinely trying. I have a very specific mission I’ve been working on for a year. There has been no success. There is no support. I need community, I need to see others doing the same.
I have done everything short of violence, and I cannot do violence.
Kudos to just not having it in you to hurt people.
What's the project?
Mental health justice - primarily for children.
Mental health care in southern states is a hell right now. A lot of child welfare agencies have taken Trump’s election as permission to stop functioning.
I also used to work with a lot of undocumented children, but it’s no longer safe to be a trans teacher. So I do independent outreach, education. Trying to make all children feel valued.
It can take a lot to make a kid feel worthwhile at the best of times. That it's anyone's goal at all is already a pretty huge comfort, I think. Shit, you managed to not crumple to hate, even now. That's our humanity, that's what we're fighting for, anyway. Always good to see it. I'll take it anywhere I can find it.
Our ICE officers are now facing a 500 percent increase in assaults against them while they carry out enforcement operations
Those are rookie numbers.
TLDR:
Andrea Velez, a U.S. citizen and Cal Poly Pomona graduate, was violently detained by plainclothes federal agents in downtown Los Angeles while heading to work. Witnesses say officers in unmarked cars, without ID, tackled her without checking identification. Her family believes she was targeted due to her Hispanic appearance and fears retaliation, as her mother is a non-citizen resident. LAPD claimed they responded to a "kidnapping" call but later admitted it was an immigration operation. Velez’s whereabouts remain unknown, sparking outrage over racial profiling and unchecked enforcement.
The saddest part of this post is that th title has to stipulate that the disappeared is a US citizen. Because so many now are willing to accept that disappearing non-citizens is just hunkydory.
WashedupcynicFor me the point I want to make is that none of us are safe. We need to protect due process for everyone. Yes there are a subset of people that don't care about the gov. deporting non citizens. If they see it's happening to citizens, maybe they will start to care, maybe they will see how wrong it is to violate the rights of immigrants. I dunno. Like how do you reach these people to show them how wrong it all is?
Yeah sorry I genuinely don't understand the people saying call 911 as some form of protest or help for the victim like the cops aren't gonna show up to support the white dudes totallyinsisting they should be there. The best you accomplish is making a dispatchers job more difficult and they are the real first responders, worst is clogging lines for an actual emergency.
This is what happens when you don't follow Stranger Danger. Any stranger could try to abduct you at any time, so you must be prepared.
Curious CanidAs a practical matter, most or all of these people are wearing body armor. It isn't full coverage, but it would make shooting them effectively a great deal more difficult. They also operate in large groups, which makes attacking any one of them a lot more dangerous.
The first civilian to shoot at them will almost certainly be killed within seconds. Anyone nearby is also likely to be hit, either accidentally or intentionally. Uninvolved civilians anywhere nearby are also likely to be hit. The agents are unlikely to care about their backstops or about collateral damage.
Any attack on possible government agents that is not part of a well-planned group response, using appropriate weapons, is going to result in civilian casualties and is unlikely to have any effect on the agents. That is not to say it couldn't be done, but a few people responding with concealed carry weapons are not likely to succeed.
The human bite force is enough to easily remove a finger, it takes 33 pounds of force to crush a human trachea, and it only takes 7 pounds of force to rip a human ear clean off and/or to pop an eyeball out.
Not related to what you're saying, just a big Mythbusters fan is all.
Our ICE officers are now facing a 500 percent increase in assaults against them while they carry out enforcement operations
Maybe because they have no identification and look like a gang? They deserve to all be shot
My hypothesis is they deputized a bunch of random who answered internet ads and offered them a fixed amount per person they bring in. They get paid the same, so why bother checking?
Her family members were too scared to get out, as Rosas' mother has residency but not full U.S. citizenship.
Goddamnit.
Are they just arresting anyone that isn't white and doesn't have a name like John Smith?
sunbrrnslapperI have been wondering the same thing. Like, this is 1 lady, how/why did they target her specifically or was she just near by and brown?
wrong place wrong time... They're lazy, they don't want to work for it. They're not going to go after criminals or gangs. We're going after gardeners, Ice cream, vendor and maids.
Inot the tough guys They are dressed as...
Not anyone, just the people who won't fight back. They're leaving the actually dangerous people alone
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Miles O'Brien*somewhere, a criminal*: Oh man, you mean all I have to do is take my license plate off, dress like a tacticool office worker, put on a mask and I'm just allowed to kidnap people??? SCORE!!!
People have already been arrested for impersonating ice bc of that exact situation. It’s actually insane
Ex NummisMy hope remains that some vestiges of the rule of law remain and all these people so wronged by this system will eventually have their day in court, and get restitution.
It's a tiny hope, since I'm reluctant to believe the above will eventually happen, but I'll hold on to it just the same.
What are the Democrats doing now?
Not helping, that only leaves us.
if they get away with Terrorizing people over different race When they're finished, they're going to terrorize the rest of us. We have to speak up.