A Georgia native spent more than 24 hours in detention at a Florida county jail after immigration authorities asked that he be held and charged as an “unauthorized alien,” under a Florida law that has been temporarily blocked for weeks.
Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a 20-year-old from Grady County, remained behind bars even after an advocate produced his U.S. birth certificate in court.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Lopez-Gomez was arrested by Florida Highway Patrol on Wednesday after the car in which he was riding as a passenger was pulled over. At a Thursday court hearing, Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans reviewed Lopez-Gomez’s birth certificate and said that “this is indeed an authentic document,” according to coverage by nonprofit news outlet Florida Phoenix.
According to court records, Riggans found no probable cause for the charge of an immigration violation, but said she lacked the jurisdiction to release Lopez-Gomez. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had asked the jail to hold the 20-year-old for 48 hours, a request made when federal officials need time to take migrants into their custody.
Lopez-Gomez was eventually released several hours later on Thursday evening, after protesters had gathered in the jail’s parking lot, the Florida Phoenix reported. An ICE agent took him to a nearby Wendy’s. The agency has not responded to a request for comment from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Florida legislation that led to the Georgia native’s arrest seeks to penalize unauthorized immigrants over the age of 18 “who knowingly enter or attempt to enter this state after entering the United States by eluding or avoiding examination or inspection by immigration officers.” The law was blocked by a federal judge earlier this month.
“I wanted to tell them: ‘Where are you going to take him? He is from here,’” his mother, Sebastiana Gomez-Perez, had told a Phoenix reporter following the unsuccessful attempt to secure his release earlier in the day.
“It hurts so much,” she added through tears.
Although he was born in Georgia, Lopez-Gomez grew up in Mexico. His first language is Tzotzil, a Mayan language, the Phoenix reported.
According to a report from CNN, the 20-year-old now resides in Cairo, Georgia, and had crossed into Florida for a construction job in Tallahassee.
His Florida arrest was the second in a matter of days.
On Sunday, Lopez-Gomez was charged with driving under the influence in Grady County, his mother told the Phoenix. ICE also requested that the Georgia jail hold Lopez-Gomez, but he was released after relatives showed officials his birth certificate and Social Security card.
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