On December 20, 2015, she was suspended indefinitely from her Miss Puerto Rico position after a series of Islamophobic comments via Twitter.
[5] In 2010, as Miss Teen White Rock Lake, Vélez placed tenth overall but drew notice for her "crowd-pleasing performance" of "Wipe Out" on drums.
[6][7] In 2011, she was named Miss Teen Fort Worth 2011 and won eighth place at the state pageant.
[8][9][10] In 2012, Vélez entered the state pageant as Miss Hunt County's Outstanding Teen 2012 but was not a Top-10 finalist.
[17] Vélez won the competition on July 11, 2015, when she received her crown from outgoing Miss Puerto Rico titleholder Yarelis Salgado.
Vélez was Puerto Rico's representative at the Miss America 2016 pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 2015.
[20][21] Vélez is a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, but her family relocated to the Fort Worth, Texas, area when she was five years old.
[11][13] Vélez is a student at The University of Texas where she was a member of the Association of Latino Professionals for America, Women in Business, Sigma Alpha Lambda and Turning Point USA.