A U.S. citizen from Georgia was arrested and detained by immigration authorities in Florida despite presenting valid documents confirming his citizenship. He has since been released.
April 17, around 7 PM a video surfaced of Lopez reuniting with his mother after being wrongfully held in an ICE detention center in Florida.
Juan Carlos Gomez Lopez, a U.S.-born resident, was pulled over by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper for allegedly driving 78 mph in a 65 mph zone, the Florida Pheonix reported. Lopez, who was traveling with two other men, was taken into custody under a new Florida immigration law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023.
The law makes it a felony for any person over the age of 18 to “knowingly and willfully” enter Florida if they have previously entered the United States unlawfully, even if federal authorities have not deported them. Critics have warned that the law’s vague language could result in the unlawful detention of legal residents and U.S. citizens.
Lopez was born in the United States but spent much of his life outside the country. His first language is Tzotzil, an Indigenous Mayan language spoken in parts of southern Mexico and Central America. Language barriers may have contributed to his arrest, according to advocates.
After his arrest, Lopez’s mother brought his birth certificate to the courthouse to prove his citizenship. Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans confirmed the authenticity of the document during a hearing but said her authority was limited due to an ICE detainer that required Lopez to remain in custody for 48 hours.
“In looking at it, and feeling it, and holding it up to the light, the court can clearly see the watermark to show that this is indeed an authentic document,” Riggans said in court.
Despite the verification of his U.S. citizenship, federal immigration officials held Lopez in custody until the ICE detainer expired.
Lopez’s mother, who spoke in Spanish, told The Phoenix she felt powerless in the face of the system.
“I wanted to tell them, ‘Where are you going to take him? He is from here,’” she said after leaving the courtroom. “I felt immense helplessness because I couldn’t do anything, and I am desperate to get my son out of there.”
Thomas Kennedy, a spokesperson for the Florida Immigrant Coalition who attended the hearing, told NBC News that the case exemplifies the dangers of overly broad state immigration laws.
“It’s like this bureaucratic, dystopian nightmare of poorly written laws,” Kennedy said. “We are living in a time when this man could get sent to El Salvador because, what, is he going to be treated like a stateless person?”
ICE released Lopez after his detainer expired. As of Friday, no criminal charges related to his immigration status had been filed.
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