DHS slams 'bizarre tale' about activist allegedly kidnapped by bounty hunters
Juliana "Juli" Pelaez Calderon was on her way to work in South Los Angeles when she was "abducted" by men at gunpoint in an unmarked car and was taken to the border at the San Ysidro port of entry, where she was presented with self-deportation paperwork, her family's lawyer with Immigrant Defenders Law Center said during a news conference Monday.
"But when Juli refused to sign the paperwork, when Juli demanded to see a judge, when Juli demanded to speak to an attorney, she was punished," Attorney Stephano Medina said.
"She was taken back to an unmarked van along with other travelers who were also insisting on their rights and taken to a warehouse where she was only given water. A warehouse where she was not given food. A warehouse, where men and women were held together. A warehouse without any law enforcement employee, without any official there present."
In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin disputed media reports that Calderon was kidnapped.
"This woman was never arrested or 'kidnapped' by ICE," McLaughlin said. "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, water or an attorney were clearly fabricated."
"Lazy reporting like this is why trust in the media is at an all-time low. This type of fear-mongering demonizes our law enforcement, who are now facing a nearly 700% increase in assaults against them," McLaughlin added.
Calderon, a mother of three, is a member of the community organization Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Fox Los Angeles reported. She has been allowed to make two calls to her family, but her whereabouts are still unknown, her supporters said.
"How many people do we think this is happening too?" Medina asked.
Medina said the federal government has contracted with bounty hunters to "kidnap" illegal immigrants to take them to the border and pressure them to sign self-deportation paperwork.
Immigration advocates have accused U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents of illegally detaining U.S. citizens and kidnapping people off the street, which authorities have denied.
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