Mom of Teen With Disability Mistakenly Detained by Federal Agents Speaks Out: 'He Tells Me He Feels Harassed'

The mother of a 15-year-old boy with disabilities who was briefly detained at gunpoint by federal agents Monday outside Arleta High School in Los Angeles on Monday, told NBC News on Thursday that her son has been shaken up since the encounter.

"He breaks down, and he tells me he feels harassed," said Andreina Mejia of her son Baldemar Gutierrez. "He tells me he doesn't feel safe." Baldemar recalled being shown a photo and repeatedly telling agents he did not know the person they were seeking. The agents later released him, acknowledging the mistake.

Mejia recounted that she was parked with her son on Monday while enrolling her daughter when a truck arrived and masked agents approached, pointing guns and a Taser. "They pulled him out and they handcuffed him right away," she told NBC News.

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) confirmed the incident, with Superintendent Alberto Carvalho saying surveillance footage showed agents wearing "police" and "Border Patrol" insignia taking the teen into custody. Carvalho also slammed the event by saying:

"It is disturbing, it is heartbreaking, it is reprehensible, it is unacceptable not only in our community but anywhere in America"

In a statement shared with NBC News on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security reiterated that agents were searching for a man near the school:

"Allegations that Border Patrol targeted Arleta High School are FALSEAgents were conducting a targeted operation on criminal illegal alien Cristian Alexander Vasquez-Alvarenga—a Salvadoran national and suspected MS-13 pledge with prior criminal convictions in the broader vicinity of Arleta"

Carvalho said bullets were left at the scene and that LAUSD requested they be collected, but the agencies involved declined, suggesting they use them for target practice. He stressed that schools will implement safety measures, including increased patrols by school police to monitor potential immigration operations.

In response to rising concerns about federal immigration enforcement, LAUSD announced during the weekend a series of measures to protect students traveling to and from school, including stationing more than 1,000 employees in critical areas, deploying volunteers to monitor federal operations, offering virtual academies, and distributing family preparedness packets with information on rights and resources.