Topline
A US-born man who was arrested by authorities in Florida—under a blocked anti-immigration law—and placed under immigration detention on charges of being an “unauthorized alien” was released on Thursday evening after spending a night in jail, marking the latest controversy around the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown and deportation efforts.
The 20-year-old U.S. born man was put under federal immigration hold after being arrested by a ... More
Key Facts
According to the Miami Herald, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper arrested Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez on Wednesday under a new state anti-immigration law that makes it a misdemeanor for any adult undocumented immigrant who enters the state illegally.
The arrest was made under the new state law despite a federal judge temporarily blocking the state from implementing it and the 20-year-old Lopez-Gomez was charged with entering the state illegally as an “unauthorized alien” despite him being a U.S. citizen.
Earlier on Thursday, Lopez-Gomez appeared virtually before Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans, who acknowledged the 20-year-old’s birth certificate was legitimate and ruled there was no probable cause for the misdemeanor charge against him, according to local outlet Florida Phoenix.
The state’s prosecutor, however, argued the judge lacked jurisdiction over the detained man’s release, as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had formally requested Lopez-Gomez be put under a 48-hour immigration detention.
Lopez-Gomez was released later on Thursday evening, a Florida Immigrant Coalition spokesperson confirmed on X and thanked “everyone who shared, call and did anything to help secure his release.”
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What Do We Know About Florida Sb 4-C?
Florida’s SB 4-C law was passed by the state’s legislature and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in February this year. Under the law, any undocumented migrant who is 18 or older and “knowingly enters or attempts to enter this state after entering the United States by eluding or avoiding examination or inspection by immigration officers” will face a first-degree misdemeanor charge. The law was challenged in court by the Florida Immigrant Coalition, and a federal judge issued an order earlier this month temporarily blocking the law. Earlier this week, state officials argued before the court that they should be able to move forward and implement the law, disputing the argument that the law encroaches on federal authority regarding immigration issues. Federal Judge Kathleen Williams, who issued a temporary halt, is set to hear a request for a preliminary injunction against the law, which would block its implementation for a longer period.
This is a developing story.
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