Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) agents have been instructed to keep tabs on incidents involving federal immigration officers following citizen reports of "attempted kidnappings."
NBC News detailed that the guidelines involve trying to verify the identities of people making the arrests and document events on body cameras if those claiming to be officers refuse to comply.
"In some cases, agents have reportedly refused to identify themselves, resulting in confusion, calls for service, and tensions between the public and law enforcement," reads a passage of the message to officers.
LAPD agents are instructed to act only if needed to safeguard lives and remain separated from the enforcement action. They are also directed to seek to de-escalate tensions, provide information to community members and take crime reports for kidnapping or false imprisonment if agents don't identify themselves after a "verification attempt."
"There's been a lot of conversation around with a lot of concern for 'blue on blue' interactions, a lot of concern about community perceptions that the people who are out there, are not who they purport to be," LAPC Chief Jim McDonnell told the Board of Police Commissioners last week, according to the outlet.
An incident illustrating the situation took place recently, when a California community leader was reportedly detained and taken to a warehouse near the border until she self-deports
Concretely, Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon was detained last week, her attorney, Stephano Medina, said. Medina detailed that "uniformed men in unmarked cars kidnapped Juli, and with her courage and her strength, even though we don't know where Juli is and we don't know when we will find her, Juli has managed to make two phone calls to the family since she's been kidnapped."
The lawyer went on to say that the woman saw she was being followed by two trucks as she was on her way to her janitorial job on June 25. At one point, one truck got in front of her, leading her to pull over hoping they would pass by.
However, she was followed and then armed men with masks on "took her." Medina added that the men did not identify themselves, and that Pelaez Calderon believed they were bounty hunters.
"Juli told us that when she was picked up in this parking lot, she wasn't taken to any Detention Center. She wasn't taken to be processed," Medina added. "Instead, Juli was taken directly from this parking lot to the border at San Ysidro, and there she was presented to an ICE staffer. There, Juli was presented with voluntary self deportation paperwork. She was taken straight from here to the border and pressured to sign self deportation paperwork."
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denied the woman was taken by ICE, claiming that the report was false. "ICE does not employ bounty hunters to make arrests. This bizarre tale about being picked up by bounty hunters, taken to an unmarked warehouse without access to food, water, or an attorney were clearly fabricated," DHS added in a social media publication.
KTLA fell for a HOAX. This woman was never arrested or “kidnapped” by ICE. If the media would have bothered to ask—ICE does not employ bounty hunters to make arrests. This bizarre tale about being picked up by bounty hunters, taken to an unmarked warehouse without access to food,… pic.twitter.com/WoaUjTOQP4
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) July 1, 2025
However, the denial led to questions about who took the woman. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Senior Fellow at the Immigration Council, raised alarm about the issue, noting that it is unclear who detained her. "Again, this is a MORE terrifying scenario. The woman is missing. She called from a blocked number and said she was in immigration custody. Her family has no idea where she is. Her lawyers can't get an answer. So WHERE IS SHE? Aren't you concerned?" he added.
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