U.S. officials Sunday are disputing a claim by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman that an employee of his department was “wrongfully detained” by immigration officials.
Hochman wrote to the Trump administration to complain after an employee of his department allegedly was “wrongfully detained” by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement on Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“A member of our office was wrongfully detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). I can thankfully report that, shortly after, our employee was released and is safe,” Hochman wrote in the letter, The Times reported. “This incident is unacceptable. Our employee is a dedicated public servant who serves the people of Los Angeles County with professionalism and integrity. This troubling situation caused great distress to our colleague, our co-worker’s family, and our entire office family.”
However, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told City News Service in an email Sunday that the department has no record of such an incident.
“Neither ICE nor CBP have any record of any employee of the LA County DA’s office being detained. Any allegations our law enforcement are engaging in racial profiling are FALSE and disgusting,” the official wrote.
Southern California officials have complained that U.S. immigration authorities have detained many people without cause amid President Donald Trump’s ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration.
Hochman’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.