US-born man held by ICE despite showing birth certificate in court has been released
An American citizen who was held in jail on suspicion of being an "unauthorized alien" has been freed.
The backstory
Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez was born in Grady County, Georgia but was arrested on April 16 by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper when the car he was riding in was pulled over for speeding, CNN reported.
The 20-year-old man was held at a local jail despite a judge being shown his birth certificate in court at the request of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The 20-year-old man resides in Cairo, Georgia but traveled into Florida for a construction job.
RELATED: Federal judge warns of criminal contempt for Trump officials in deportation dispute
Local perspective
Newsweek reported that Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez was detained for suspicion of violating legislation signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that makes it illegal for undocumented immigrants over the age of 18 to "knowingly" travel into Florida after avoiding inspection by immigration officers.
According to the news outlet Florida Phoenix, Lopez-Gomez appeared in court virtually before a judge on April 17. Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans received a copy of his birth certificate and Social Security card to prove his U.S. citizenship.
After his release Lopez-Gomez told Florida Phoenix "I feel fine leaving that place. I felt bad in there. They didn't give us anything to eat all day yesterday."
He is scheduled to have a court appearance on May 6 in Leon County, Florida.
In a separate case, theTrump administration mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to an El Salvador prison, but does not intend to return him to the U.S. despite a Supreme Court ruling that the administration must "facilitate" his release.
The Source
Information for this story was provided by Newsweek, CNN, and Florida Phoenix, which received comments from Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.
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