In mid-August 2025, social media posts circulated a claim that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested and detained 32-year-old Andrea Velez, a U.S. citizen, without a warrant or probable cause.
According to the posts, a man wearing a vest labeled "Police," but who was otherwise in plainclothes, allegedly slammed Velez to the ground before placing her into his car. The posts also claimed Velez was charged with assaulting an officer and denied water for 24 hours while in custody.
(Facebook user Ted Funn)
Scores of Snopes readers searched about website for information about Velez's arrest and detention.
Velez shared her account of the arrest and detention with several news outlets, including The Guardian (archived) and KNBC in Los Angeles (archived). In her interview with KNBC, Velez said she was a U.S. citizen and claimed she was not provided water for 24 hours while in custody at a detention center.
In response to Snopes' questions, ICE provided a statement attributed to a Department of Homeland Security official that read, in part, "Andrea Guadalupe Velez was arrested for impeding an arrest after she forcefully obstructed an ICE officer by making physical contact with him."
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin shared a similar statement and denied allegations that Velez was deprived of water.
Below is a breakdown of what we know about Velez's arrest and detention:
Court records outline allegations against Velez
A federal criminal complaint dated June 25, 2025, accused Velez of assaulting a federal officer in downtown Los Angeles by allegedly stepping into his path and striking him with her outstretched arm as he pursued a fleeing suspect.
According to the complaint, ICE officers stopped in downtown Los Angeles to "question two individuals about whether they were lawfully present in the United States" on June 24, 2025. The complaint alleged that Velez stepped into the path of an ICE officer who was pursuing a fleeing man and extended one of her arms "in an apparent effort to prevent" the officer from apprehending the man.
"Since Velez stepped into [the officer's] path so abruptly, he could not stop his momentum and Velez's outstretched arm struck [the officer] in the face," the complaint said. Velez allegedly knocked the officer "off balance and prevented him from continuing his chase," according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, another ICE officer said they saw Velez "step into [the officer's] path of travel and extend her arms, striking [the officer] in his head and chest."
The officers placed Velez under arrest and put her into a government vehicle on scene "to transport her for further processing," the complaint said.
Velez's attorney disputes allegations against her
Velez's case was later dismissed without prejudice, federal court records dated July 10, 2025, showed. That means she could be charged again at any time, according to her lawyer, Luis Carrillo. He told Snopes via a phone call that Velez's legal team does not know why the case was dismissed.
DHS directed Snopes to the Department of Justice for questions about Velez's prosecution. The agency did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
However, Carrillo disputed the allegations that Velez assaulted a federal officer and struck him in the face with her outstretched arm, describing them as "lies,"
In Carrillo's view, "the more plausible explanation is that [Velez] was trying to protect herself by putting her purse in front of her," he said.
"She was acting defensively, not offensively, toward the ICE agent," he added.
ICE, DHS issue statements on Velez's arrest and detention
ICE provided a statement, attributed to a DHS official, regarding Velez's arrest. It read, in part:
Andrea Guadalupe Velez was arrested for impeding an arrest after she forcefully obstructed an ICE officer by making physical contact with him. [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem has been clear: if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin echoed the statement, writing, "Andrea Guadalupe Velez was arrested for impeding an arrest after she forcefully obstructed an ICE officer by making physical contact with him."
McLaughlin also denied allegations that Velez was deprived of water. She wrote, in part, "ICE provided Andrea Velez with water, food, sanitary products, and she was given restroom breaks as needed."
Velez recounts arrest and detention
Velez said one of the men "slammed her to the ground and placed her into his car," according to The Guardian's report. The men reportedly wore "Police" vests, but otherwise were in plainclothes, and didn't identify themselves.
Velez told KNBC (archived) in a report published Aug. 12, 2025, that she tried to tell the agent who allegedly slammed her to the ground that she was a U.S. citizen, but he told her that she "was interfering with what he was doing, so he was going to arrest me."
She then asked the agent for his ID and badge number and whether he had a warrant, but he responded that she "didn't need to know any of that," according to Velez's account.
As officers processed Velez into a detention center, she again tried to tell them she was a U.S. citizen and denied any wrongdoing, KNBC reported.
Velez said she spent two days in a detention center, where she was not given any water for 24 hours, according to KNBC's report.
The Los Angeles Police Department issued a news release (archived) on June 24, 2025, that appeared to reference the incident involving Velez, though it did not name her. A spokesperson with the LAPD was unable to confirm that Velez was connected to the incident.
The police department said that it responded to a 911 call reporting a possible kidnapping in progress. The caller indicated that several people were attempting to detain people without identifying themselves, according to the news release.
"At one point, a partially handcuffed woman approached and stood near a LAPD officer. After several minutes, a federal agent approached and assumed control of the woman. LAPD was not involved in her detention or arrest," the news release said.
In her interview with The Guardian, Velez said she told an LAPD officer that she thought the men who had taken her were kidnapping her. She also denied the allegation that she struck an officer in the face.
"I never hit anyone. I've never hurt anybody, ever. Everyone who knows me knows the kind of person I am. I'm quiet, reserved, always doing the right thing, always following rules," she told The Guardian.