U.S.-born American citizen under ICE hold in Florida after driving from Georgia

[orangecrush]

Source: NBC News

A U.S.-born American citizen was being detained at the request of immigration authorities Thursday despite an advocate showing his U.S. birth certificate in court and a county judge finding no reason for him to be considered an “illegal alien” who illegally entered Florida.

Juan Carlos Gomez-Lopez, 20, was arrested Thursday evening by Florida Highway Patrol and charged under a state immigration law that has been temporarily blocked since early this month. Details of Gomez-Lopez’s arrest and detention were first reported by the Florida Phoenix news site.

After inspecting his birth certificate, Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans said during the hearing that “this is indeed an authentic document,” but that she did not have jurisdiction beyond finding no probable cause for the charge.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s role is to enforce immigration laws that generally apply to noncitizens. American citizens are protected under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution from unreasonable search and seizure, arrest and detention.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/us-born-citizen-detained-ice-immigration-florida-rcna201800

---

"Your citizenship will not protect you. Having your papers, even your birth certificate proving you were born in Americatown, USA, will not help you.

If they don’t like you, you’re going in a hole."

https://bsky.app/profile/joemcken.net/post/3ln22vi7tyy2b

[Irish_Dem]

1. This judge needs to find another line of work.

She is either lying or incompetent.

She claims a US judge has no jurisdiction when a US citizen is being charged with being illegal alien.

[Lochloosa]

3. Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans. She's not a Federal Judge.

Leon County is a Blue Haven in FL.

[Irish_Dem]

7. Doesn't matter what the hell kind of judge she is.

Someone before her is being charged with a crime she knows is FALSE.

Case should be dismissed.

It is like someone before her being charged with murder and the murder victim walks into the courtroom.
Judge says sorry, I have no jurisdiction here.

[Buddyzbuddy]

2. Maybe the Felon has immunity but ICE doesn't.

Haul Homan's ass in. Put him last on the docket, make him wait. Rinse, then repeat. Every case, every jurisdiction.

[bluestarone]

4. The law has been BLOCKED. How can they still use it?

[intheflow]

10. That was my question!

It's blocked, and he appears to be legal, there is no reason why this man cannot be released. It should not matter that it falls under ICE jurisdiction if ICE is violating a TRO by arresting this guy in the first place. WTF?

[wnylib]

61. This is exactly what we expected would happen when Trump got in office. He made clear that he was going after

Latin Americans to deport them and we knew that zealous ICE agents would not distinguish between citizens and non citizens.

Why should they when the President doesn't, either?

For someone who complains about "shithole countries," the orange loser isn't wasting any time turning the US into one.

The "business genius" who has bankrupted several companies and wrecked everything else that he has touched is now in the process of bankrupting and destroying the US.

[Shipwack]

15. I wonder if they are enforcing it regardless...

They probably feel (correctly, IMHO) that they are untouchable.

The governor and President’s wishes matter more to them than a court order.

[bluestarone]

16. Probably right.

Need someone to help them with lawsuits. ACLU, you see this?

[Magoo48]

29. There is no law enforcement for the fascist aligned agencies. Judges or no judges, they can do what they like.

Nobody is standing up to them, and unless millions of us decide that freedom wasn’t a bad thing at all and go out in massive numbers and get in these fuckers way, they will just keep doing whatever the hell they want.

[Eugene]

5. If everyone is powerless to fix an obvious mistake, this young man is going to CECOT.

[bronxiteforever]

6. How is this not an illegal arrest and a 1983 civil rights

violation that deserves damages?

[SWBTATTReg]

8. Yes, sue their a&&es, big time $$$$!

[moonshinegnomie]

9. i'd do more than sue

as far as im concerned all involved are guilty of kidnapping and should be charged as such...

[intheflow]

11. So here's a bit of ignorance in reporting:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s role is to enforce immigration laws that generally apply to noncitizens. American citizens are protected under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution from unreasonable search and seizure, arrest and detention.

No, motherfuckers, EVERYONE on US soil enjoys all the protections of the Constitution, including the Fourth Amendment.

[Gato Moteado]

12. it's illegal now to immigrate from GA to FL?

things are getting even worse than we thought.

[DENVERPOPS]

17. The good thing is

That the weather people are predicting Greater Strength Hurricanes this year hitting Florida and other Southern States........and watch them all scream when they find out that Trump obliterated FEMA, and they Have to rely on Trump's fellow NAZI DeSatan......

That should keep the LEO's busy so they have to quit doing Trump's work...........

They will, of course, concoct some blatant lie, to convince the Florida and Southern Trump Humpers that it is Biden't fault.....

You can be sure that Trump would find someway to make Fed Tax funds available for Mar A Lago and his golf courses....Maybe even making them far better than before and also grifting something for himself.

[Bayard]

13. Its outrageous!

How many times can I say that lately? They are really targeting Hispanic people, and it doesn't matter what their citizenship status is.

Seems that no one is safe anymore. I'm just waiting for him to start arresting and disappearing his political enemies.

I have no clue where my birth certificate is, and it wouldn't match my legal name now anyway. Hopefully, blonde/gray hair, green eyes, and a Southern twang will save me. Although, I did find out when I lived in Calif. that the unusual spelling of my first name means something else in Spanish.

[DENVERPOPS]

19. Don't spend time worrying

I am guessing that anyone who posts on this website won't be safe.............NOT LOL

[Bayard]

38. They want us to all be intimidated and terrorized,

But, I'm guessing Earl won't give up the membership registry easily.

[DENVERPOPS]

40. Granted...........

at the same time, If you and I had a dollar for every time in the last 8+ years we had said: "He/They can't do that"....
we would be far wealthier than we are now.....

I am in constant fear of what my children and Grand Children will be facing.......

These RepubliCON Politicians must not have Children and Grand Children, or they only care about themselves.
It is evident, the later...........


Along those lines, Lincoln supposedly said the following quote:

"A Statesman worries about the next generations, a Politician only about the next election"

[mcar]

14. I was just coming on to post this

Right here in the "Free" state of Florida.

[MLWR]

18. it sounds to me

like EVERYONE NEEDS TO STAY OUT OF FLORIDUH AND TEXASSISTAN.

[DENVERPOPS]

22. A Ton of them

from Florida and Texas are moving to Denver and the front range......On the streets and highways, it seems we are being invaded, looking at the license plates......

All we can hope for is that they are all Dems abandoning the MAGAots in each of those states....

[William769]

20. Why is he still in custody?

[JoseBalow]

21. Welcome to Florida

[IcyPeas]

23. I dont understand how the highway patrol chose to stop this particular car.

Gomez-Lopez was in a vehicle with other passengers and was traveling to work from Georgia when they were stopped after entering Florida.

A sweeping immigration law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023 makes it a state crime for an undocumented immigrant over age 18 to enter the state illegally.

Gomez-Lopez was born in Georgia but lived much of his life in Mexico. His first language is Tzotzil, a Mayan language, the Florida Phoenix reported.

[Bengus81]

46. They can pull people over for anything or just lie about it. The old you veered over the center line excuse.

Bam...pull them over.

[xocetaceans]

24. From Bluesky Social, Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez has been released....

Jackie Llanos
‪@llanosjackie.bsky.social‬

BREAKING: Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez has been released. This is the moment he reunited with his mom.

https://bsky.app/profile/llanosjackie.bsky.social/post/3ln2as4myj22e

[scipan]

33. U.S. citizen released from jail after arrest under Florida's new anti-immigration law

Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez held his mother in a tight embrace and wept following his release from the Leon County Jail Thursday evening, where the U.S. citizen was held after his arrest for illegally entering Florida as an “unauthorized alien.”

An official with Homeland Security Investigations in Tallahassee took Lopez-Gomez, a 20-year-old born in Georgia, to a Wendy’s near the jail, where he reunited with his mother after spending more than 24 hours under arrest following a traffic stop in which he was a passenger.

Lopez-Gomez appeared shellshocked and spoke quietly as he discussed what happened when a Florida Highway Patrol trooper pulled over the car he was in on his way to work from Cairo, Georgia, to Tallahassee. The trooper made the traffic stop because the driver was going 78 mph in a 65 mph zone, according to the arrest report.

“I feel fine leaving that place, I felt bad in there. They didn’t give us anything to eat all day yesterday,” he told the Florida Phoenix in Spanish. He added that he had asked the trooper who made the arrest why he was being taken into custody, because he was a U.S. citizen.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/04/17/u-s-citizen-released-from-jail-after-arrest-under-floridas-new-anti-immigration-law/

[orangecrush]

42. Good news

Thank you!

[xocetaceans]

59. You're welcome. n/t

[mcar]

25. Update: he's been released

[Dan]

26. Not being funny or hyperbolic here, but

I wonder when will it start happing that ICE agents start getting shot?

If I knew that even if I was a legal citizen (born and raised) that ICE could detain me and I could then be shipped to El Salvador’s prison, then I have nothing left to lose. Especially if the POTUS says that once there in that prison, then I am on my own, then I have nothing to lose.

[slightlv]

30. You know, that thought just crossed my mind, too...

at the same time, remembering the image of all those rednecks laying on freeway overpasses with their big toys, aiming them at the Feds. This time, the shoe would be on the other foot. And I honestly can't blame anyone for thinking (or doing) it. Though I still want to think we can non-violence our way out of this. That's actually a lie. I don't think we'll not have violence. trump is intent on it happening. He is intent on taking on full emperor role by doing the Insurrection Act dance. trump *thinks* he knows "nothing left to lose" because that is his natural always-on mode. He's never met anyone who truly doesn't have a fuck to give any longer. May he meet one soon!

Hubs and I will be adding our bodies to the demonstrations on Saturday, trying to resolve things peacefully. But I am a veteran, and a woman. Ever hear the one about the mama bear?

[Dan]

35. Never mess with Mama Bear nor her cubs :)

[speak easy]

43. Could you expand on this and post it as on OP?

I think it is important for a lot of reasons.

[Dan]

53. Smiling, and Thanks

But I have neither the words nor the mental chops to do such a thing.

[Deuxcents]

27. He's an American citizen, crossing state lines for work..not on welfare or a slacker but a young man

Going to work. Will we need passports to travel interstate now? Why is this not discrimination if he was a passenger in a car and only he was detained? Why is this happening at all?

[slightlv]

31. Women have already been considering this...

along with menstrual cycle documentation. Everyone else is just catching up to us!

[ReRe]

44. Seriously!

Who will hold the government to account when it breaks the law?

[Bengus81]

48. Just like in NAZI Germany the Gestapo loved their work

The power gives them a full time woody...........

[Bluethroughu]

28. Prisoning Citizens!

They want to get away with sending people to a death camp in another country, just like the Nazis and say they have no rights there.

We are here! Enough!

[UpInArms]

32. Things are definitely out of control

This country is no longer a place of justice …

I am out of words at this moment

[Deuxcents]

37. I feel that way, too. I don't know why I'm so shocked but I am daily because I never dreamed it would happen here

[thought crime]

39. And we all know it's just going to get worse

Everyone on the SCOTUS better have a nice long think (or rethink) about this.

[LudwigPastorius]

34. "Judge LaShawn Riggans said during the hearing... that she did not have jurisdiction"

Cowardly

[iemanja]

36. So it begins.

[struggle4progress]

41. It sounds like a conspiracy to deprive the guy of his rights, involving

the arresting officer, the judge, ICE, and the detention facility

[ReRe]

45. For all we know

State Police and local officers now have a quota. Trickle down ill-justice.

[orangecrush]

50. I saw a YouTube video

From "The Civil Rights Lawyer"

Where Georgia highway patrol pulled a guy over, then called ahead to the next county on the road where he was pulled over by another deputy for the exact same bogus violation.

I wonder if Georgia and Florida have a similar arrangement

?si=2NiqS6AUrClQCtcj

[ReRe]

56. That looks like

plain old Interstate Highway harassment via Interstate Cops. If that happened to me more than once, I'd end up in jail because I would give that cop a huge piece of my mind with loaded language. What do we have to do now? Keep a lawyer on retainer just to drive back and forth to work?

[orangecrush]

57. Looks that way.

[BlueWavePsych]

47. Kick

[orangecrush]

51. This literally happened

[Layzeebeaver]

49. Fascism... sure... here's the scoop... from MSNBC...

A U.S.-born American citizen was being detained at the request of immigration authorities Thursday despite an advocate showing his U.S. birth certificate in court and a county judge finding no reason for him to be considered an “illegal alien” who illegally entered Florida.

Juan Carlos Gomez-Lopez, 20, was arrested Thursday evening by Florida Highway Patrol and charged under a state immigration law that has been temporarily blocked since early this month. Details of Gomez-Lopez’s arrest and detention were first reported by the Florida Phoenix news site. After inspecting his birth certificate, Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans said during the hearing that “this is indeed an authentic document,” but that she did not have jurisdiction beyond finding no probable cause for the charge.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s role is to enforce immigration laws that generally apply to noncitizens. American citizens are protected under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution from unreasonable search and seizure, arrest and detention.

Nonetheless, he remains detained locally at ICE’s request, said Thomas Kennedy, a spokesperson at the Florida Immigrant Coalition who attended Thursday’s hearing. “Everything tracks for him being sent to an ICE detention center,” he told NBC News in a phone interview.

NBC News has reached out to state and federal authorities for comment.

Gomez-Lopez was in a vehicle with other passengers and was traveling to work from Georgia when they were stopped after entering Florida. A sweeping immigration law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023 makes it a state crime for an undocumented immigrant over age 18 to enter the state illegally.

[orangecrush]

54. Thank you.

[Martin68]

52. We are going to need a list of states oo which it is not safe to go. Perhaps every red state?

[orangecrush]

55. Yes

And boycott.

[Passages]

58. Articles of impeachment.

Our side needs to get these ready.

Contemptible administration beyond the measure of our Constitution.

[maxsolomon]

60. There's zero chance of it happening until 2027, and then only if the House is taken back.

If that happens, Conviction would be nearly impossible - we've seen that demonstrated twice.

You know this. Why bother suggesting it? I see it on DU every day.

[Passages]

62. Then we can prove we stand for nothing until there is an election.

Or we can draft the articles and talk about them daily until people understand the laws he has broken.

You don't act only when you have the votes; let everyone see who voted against their country and who voted to protect him.

[maxsolomon]

63. That makes sense.

It wouldn't get to a floor vote, though.