18-04-2025
U.S. citizen arrested in Florida under blocked immigration law. Here's what we know
A man arrested by Florida Highway Patrol on April 16 under Florida's new immigration law has been released to his family after spending over 30 hours in jail under a 48-hour hold requested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
There were two problems with the arrest of Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez.
First, Lopez-Gomez, 20, is a U.S. citizen, born in Georgia. That was verified by a Leon County judge early Thursday, although she admitted she had no jurisdiction over his release.
And a federal judge in early April temporarily blocked the state from enforcing that new immigration law, which created state crimes for undocumented immigrants entering or re-entering Florida, until at least April 18.
The arrest came amid growing concern and legal scrutiny over President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigrants in the United States, particularly for mistakenly sending Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland to a prison in El Salvador without due process and for resisting orders from a federal court and the Supreme Court to bring him back.
Here's what to know.
Yes.
Lopez-Gomez was born in Cairo, Georgia, according to the birth certificate presented to Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans. When he was a year old, he went to live in Mexico and stayed there until four years ago, his mother, Sebastiana Gomez-Perez, told the Florida Phoenix, first reported the story. His native language is Tzotzil, an Indigenous Maya language.
Riggans verified his birth certificate after it was presented by Lopez-Gomez's community advocate.
'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. She also noted his Social Security card and said she found no probable cause for his detainment.
The state prosecutor argued that the court lacked jurisdiction because ICE formally asked local authorities to hold him for 48 hours.
Lopez-Gomez was a passenger in a car with two other men, both with Guatemalan IDs. He was on his way from his home in Grady County to Tallahassee, where he is working in construction, Florida Phoenix reported.
An FHP officer stopped them for going 78 mph in a 65 mph zone, according to the report. Lopez-Gomez provided his Georgia ID, but all three men were taken into custody. Lopez-Gomez was charged with illegally entering Florida as an "unauthorized alien."
Unclear.
The Florida Phoenix reported that ICE requested Lopez-Gomez be held in Georgia three days earlier when he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, but he was released then after his family presented his birth certificate and Social Security card.
In the arrest record, the trooper states that Lopez-Gomez said he was in the country illegally but handed over his ID. There is no mention of his Social Security card, although Lopez-Gomez said he presented both.
An ICE official drove Lopez-Gomez to a Wendy's near the jail in Tallahassee to reunite with his mother, the Florida Phoenix reported. Afterward, they went to the parking lot of the jail to greet the protestors who had been demanding his release.
Lopez-Gomez will have to return to the Leon County Courthouse on May 6.
The law, approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis in February, makes it a misdemeanor for undocumented immigrants aged 18 and older to knowingly enter Florida 'after entering the United States by eluding or avoiding examination or inspection by immigration officers.'
The law also requires minimum nine-month prison terms for each violation — the federal Immigration and Nationality Act allows for a fine or probation — with longer sentences for subsequent convictions.
Miami-based Judge Kathleen Williams granted a request for a temporary restraining order against the law Florida Immigrant Coalition, the Farmworker Association of Florida and two individual plaintiffs who said the law violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution by encroaching on federal responsibilities.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Immigration arrest in Florida detains American citizen later released
