Mayor of LA spreads false and fabricated information to defame ICE

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is at the center of controversy after sharing on social media a story that, according to federal prosecutors and authorities, turned out to be a hoax orchestrated by a migrant mother to defraud the public and discredit immigration authorities.

The allegations, which involved an alleged kidnapping by ICE, were denied by Trump Administration authorities, highlighting the mayor's dissemination of false information.

What happened?

On July 1, Bass posted a message on X that recounted the alleged ordeal of Yuriana Julia "Juli" Pelaez Calderon, a Mexican migrant who, according to the initial narrative, was pulled from her vehicle on her way to work, held in a warehouse, and pressured by ICE agents to self-deport. “This doesn't make anyone safer”, Bass wrote, calling the event an act of intimidation without due process.

“She’s a mother from L.A. — taken out of her car on her way to work, and then held in a warehouse as officers hoped she would “self-deport.” No hearing. Just fear. This doesn't make anyone safer.”

The post, which resurfaced recently, amplified the claims of Pelaez Calderon and her family, who organized a press conference alleging that two armed bounty hunters ambushed the woman in a parking lot of a Jack in the Box in Los Angeles and took her to San Ysidro to force her deportation.

Pelaez Calderon's family also created a page on GoFundMe to raise funds, appealing to public empathy. The page is now disabled.

The official response

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and federal prosecutors have revealed that the story was false. According to DHS, surveillance footage from the parking lot showed Pelaez Calderon voluntarily leaving and getting into a sedan, with no signs of coercion. Phone records also supported the conclusion that the alleged kidnapping was a hoax, according to the report by the New York Post.

For his part, federal prosecutor Bill Essayli criticized the dissemination of these allegations, noting that "politicians are recklessly spreading dangerous rhetoric" that seeks to discredit ICE agents.

DHS went further, and in a official statement asserted that Pelaez Calderon "scammed innocent Americans out of money" and diverted agency resources, while accusing "politicians and activist media" of promoting a hoax designed to "demonize" law enforcement.

Pelaez Calderon now faces charges of conspiracy and making false statements to federal officials.