A US citizen was arrested during an immigration raid in downtown Los Angeles this week in what her family described as a “kidnapping” by federal immigration agents.

Andrea Velez, 32, had just been dropped off at work by her mother and sister, the pair said, when they saw agents grab her.

“My mom looked at the rear mirror and she saw how my sister was attacked from the back,” Estrella Rosas told ABC7. “She was like: ‘They’re kidnapping your sister.’”

Velez, a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona, was taken into custody during an immigration raid on Tuesday. In video captured from the scene, agents can be seen surrounding her as a crowd gathers in the street and police officers stand by. Meanwhile, Rosas and her mother, who has residency but is not a citizen, screamed from a nearby vehicle for help.

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Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) questioned first lady Melania Trump’s reported “Einstein visa” at a House hearing Wednesday.

“Let me remind y’all that Melania, the first lady, a model — and when I say model, I’m not talking about Tyra Banks, Cindy Crawford or Naomi Campbell level — applied for and was given an EB-1 visa, and what that stands for is an Einstein visa. Now y’all that don’t know, let me tell you how you receive an Einstein visa,” Crockett said.

“You’re supposed to have some sort of significant achievement, like being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize or a Pulitzer, being an Olympic medalist, or having other sustained extraordinary abilities and success in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics. Last time I checked, the first lady had none of those accolades under her belt,” the Texas Democrat added. “It doesn’t take an Einstein to see that the math ain’t mathin’ here.”

The Washington Post has reported that Trump in 2001 was given a green card via the elite EB-1 program. The program has been used by people such as academic researchers and multinational business executives, as well as people who have demonstrated “sustained national and international acclaim,” according to the Post.

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A top lawyer in the Department of Justice seeking a seat on the federal bench is facing allegations that he was a key player in pushing the Trump administration to ignore court orders and make sure deportation flights took off no matter what judges said.

The allegations, made by a Department of Justice whistleblower in a report obtained by USA TODAY, are now hanging over Bove's nomination by President Donald Trump to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which hears appeals from Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The whistleblower, Ere Reuveni, was suspended from his job at the Department of Justice after he told a court that the Trump administration erred in deporting a Maryland man to El Salvador despite a court order to keep him in the United States. His complaint leaked the night before Bove's hearing.

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