I didn’t believe you could make a living in space year 2025 as an “illegal immigrant influencer.” An “illegal immigrant influencer” apparently didn’t believe that immigration law would ever be enforced on her.
We have both been duly disabused of these notions, it appears.
According to the U.K.’s Daily Mail, Leidy Tatiana Mafla-Martinez — described as a “Colombian migrant influencer” who documented Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Los Angeles — was detained by ICE herself during a livestream on Friday.
Mafla-Martinez, who the Department of Homeland Security said entered the country illegally in 2022 but was released under the Biden administration’s get-out-of-detention-free card policy, had a conviction of driving under the influence in L.A., according to a DHS statement.
During the livestream, she can be seen driving her Tesla (life as a “Colombian migrant influencer” must be a profitable one) when she’s pulled over by agents.
“Wait, stop! No, no, no!” she could be heard shrieking repeatedly during the arrest, as the camera shook around.
She then began shouting “esperte, esperte!” — “wait, wait!” in Spanish — as she was apprehended.
A left-wing, anti-ICE account on X posted the video and explained how “agents [were] caught on livestream targeting her in violent arrest.”
“She is well-known to ICE as community activist who films raids in Los Angeles, California—it seems she has been targeted for an especially brutal arrest to make an example out of her,” the poster, @LongTimeHistory, claimed:
She runs a large anti-ICE TikTok account—now agents caught on livestream targeting her in violent arrest.
Agents drag her out of Tesla & throw her on ground where she lay unresponsive—then rushed by ambulance to hospital.
She is well-known to ICE as community activist who films… pic.twitter.com/co7oDbzkxC
— LongTime🤓FirstTime👨💻 (@LongTimeHistory) August 16, 2025
And in case you didn’t think that illegal aliens driving in California when they shouldn’t be is a big deal, the Department of Homeland Security would like to remind you what happens when you let Gavin Newsom rule the roost when it comes to border security and immigration enforcement:
Three innocent people were killed in Florida because Gavin Newsom’s California DMV issued an illegal alien a Commercial Driver’s License.
This gut wrenching tragedy should have never happened.@POTUS Trump and @Sec_Noem are working around the clock to protect the public and get… pic.twitter.com/o88V0MH63M
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) August 19, 2025
The “brutality” of the arrest and her falling to the ground, you will not be surprised to learn, has been derided as an act by DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, the Daily Mail reported.
“During her arrest, Martinez claimed to experience shortness of breath. She was given proper medical treatment and will be held in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” McLaughlin said.
You bet we did, @Newsweek.
Leidy Tatiana Mafla-Martinez is a CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIEN from Colombia who was convicted for driving under the influence in Los Angeles. Martinez entered the country in 2022 and was RELEASED by the Biden administration.
Under President Trump and… pic.twitter.com/cl82yI8Ixx
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) August 18, 2025
Think about it for a second: In Colombia, do you think you could pull this? Do you think you’d get such measured treatment if you were an “American migrant influencer” who flouted the laws, exposing law enforcement officials as a way to chase clout and money, then tried to resist when deportation officials caught up with you for a DUI you accumulated?
No. And so we shouldn’t feel bad in the least, and not just because of that: She played with fire and got burned. This is what happens when you do that. Sorry.
Not only that, but her arrest could lead to even more arrests, as some geniuses tried to interfere.
“During the arrest, an individual unlawfully towed a government police vehicle. He mocked and videotaped ICE officers chasing after him,” McLaughlin said.
Did the authorities overreact to her refusing to cooperate?
“Secretary Noem has been clear: Anyone who seeks to impede law enforcement will be found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Meanwhile, an illegal immigrant who amassed over 40,000 followers on TikTok and was driving a Tesla after amassing herself a DUI has been taken into custody, and left-wing social media rubberneckers will have to find another “Colombian migrant influencer” to follow.
More’s the pity.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.