Protest planned after Florida student deported following traffic stop
A campus protest is planned at the University of Florida on Wednesday in support of a Colombian student deported by the Trump administration following his arrest for alleged traffic violations.
The family of Felipe Zapata Velázquez, 27, said on Tuesday he was 'undergoing a physical and emotional recovery process' in his home country after police arrested him in Gainesville on 28 March for offenses including having an expired tag and suspended driver's license, then turned him over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice).
The agency has come under scrutiny in recent days for taking an aggressive approach to foreign nationals studying in the US, with dozens of international students reporting the abrupt cancellations of their visas, some reportedly for speeding tickets or other minor non-criminal infractions.
In one of the most prominent cases, Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate who led pro-Palestinian demonstrations at its New York campus last summer, remains in Ice detention in Louisiana and awaiting deportation following his arrest more than one month ago.
The Florida Democratic congressman Maxwell Frost accused authorities of 'kidnapping' Velázquez, who held an F-1 student visa and was a third-year undergraduate majoring in food and resource economics at UF.
'Felipe Zapata Velázquez is just the latest victim of Trump's disgusting campaign against immigrants,' Frost said in a statement issued while the student was in federal custody in Miami.
'What should have been a routine traffic stop resulted in a nightmare as Felipe is now forced to live in the hell on Earth that is the Krome detention center.
'Donald Trump and Ice are running a government-funded kidnapping program. Showing up in unmarked vans, with plain clothes officers, they are kidnapping people off the streets and jailing them inside of detention centers without due process and with little cause.'
Ice did not respond to reporters' requests for comment.
Dimitris Liveris, of the UF chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America, which is organizing Wednesday's campus protest, told NBC Miami: 'Right now, we're seeing waves and waves of fear throughout the student body because people don't know what's going to get them placed in an Ice prison.'
NBC obtained a statement from Velázquez's mother, Claudia, in Colombia, who said her son chose to sign papers for his own deportation rather than remaining in detention while a legal fight played out.
'Felipe is undergoing a physical and emotional recovery process, and we are prioritizing his wellbeing and overall health,' she said.
'I sincerely appreciate the interest, solidarity, and support that many have expressed regarding my son's situation. When his situation is fully clarified, and if he deems it appropriate, Felipe will personally address any additional requests or communications.'
Velázquez was reportedly stopped by police in Gainesville on the evening of 28 March and cited for having an illegal license plate or attached mobile home sticker, driving with a license suspended or revoked with knowledge, and having an expired tag, per NBC.
Footage from an officer's bodycam captured him stating: 'I'm an international student. I just came from Colombia.'
His mother said he was in the process of renewing his student visa when he was arrested. He was transferred into the custody of Ice, who took him first to a holding facility in Jacksonville, then to the Miami detention center.
In February, Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, touted a new law ordering the state's 67 sheriff's offices, and municipal police departments, to collaborate with Ice and act as federal immigration agents with the authority to detain undocumented immigrants.
Yvonne Hayes Hinson, a Democratic state senator who represents Gainesville, condemned Velázquez's arrest.
'It's saddening to see a UF student detained by Ice for driving with an expired license and registration tag,' she said.
'To be detained for such an offense is outlandish and quite alarming. Though the department of state can revoke non-immigrant visas, including F-1 visas, for arrests for certain offenses, such as driving under the influence, did registration and an expired license fall under the scope of arrest and detainment?
'Immigrants are under attack now more than ever. We must speak up and not allow this to continue without voicing outrage.'
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