U.S. Citizen Detained by ICE After Traffic Stop Raises Concerns Over A New Flordia Law
"Mr. Lopez-Gomez had a Social Security card and...Georgia ID and he presented them both and they were ignored..."
On Wednesday, Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, 20, was detained by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper during a traffic stop. He was arrested for allegedly entering in the U.S. illegally.
He stay in custody for 48 hours before being released on Thrusday after his Mother presented his birth certificate to a jugde, proving he is a U.S. citzen. This caused the jugde to dropped the case, leading to his release and a widespread ourage in the media.
His 48-hour hold in custody was carried out under a new Florida law—which is temporarily blocked—that makes it a misdemeanor for anyone over 18 to enter the U.S. illegally or to “eluding or avoiding examination or inspection by immigration officers.
A Department of Homeland Security Official claimed Lopez-Gomez admited that he was in the US illegal during the traffic stop. “When individuals admit to committing a crime, like entering the country illegally, they will of course be detained while officers investigate,” the Offical said.
Lopez-Gomez's attorney, Mutaqee Akbar, said the allegation never happened, describing the arrest as to be“over aggressive” after Lopez-Gomez had shown his U.S. identification documents to the trooper."Mr. Lopez-Gomez had a Social Security card and he also had Georgia ID and he presented them both and they were ignored," Akbar added.
“I feel fine leaving that place. I felt bad in there," Lopez-Gomez said, describing his experience while being detained in Leon County Jail. “They didn’t give us anything to eat all day yesterday."
