US citizens jailed in LA Ice raids speak out: ‘They came ready to attack’

Exclusive: Andrea Velez and Adrian Martinez recount their capture by immigration officers and its effects on their lives

As two masked men dragged her into an unmarked SUV, Andrea Velez tried to focus on details she might later remember - one man's red shirt, the car's leather seats, a black backpack inside.

At 9.20am on 24 June in downtown Los Angeles, the 32-year-old was heading into work at a footwear company when the men in gator masks jumped out of their car and started chasing vendors and other people on the street, she recalled. As people fled, Velez froze and held onto her bag.