Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez held his mother tightly and wept following his release from the Leon County Jail on Thursday evening, April 17, 2025. The 20-year-old U.S. citizen, born in Georgia, was arrested for allegedly illegally entering Florida as an "unauthorized alien." After spending more than 24 hours in custody, he was reunited with his mother at a nearby Wendy's, where an official from Homeland Security Investigations in Tallahassee escorted him.
Lopez-Gomez appeared visibly shaken as he recounted the events leading to his arrest. On his way to work from Cairo, Georgia, to Tallahassee, he was a passenger in a car pulled over by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper for speeding—going 78 mph in a 65 mph zone. "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.
His mother, Sebastiana Gomez-Perez, expressed deep concern for her family’s future. "The days ahead will be tough for us. I worry that my son and my daughters will live in fear of deportation, even though they were born in the country," she said. She plans to pursue legal action regarding her son’s arrest, stating, "I don’t have a way to pay all the people who are helping us. People from other states have called us, and we don’t have a way to pay them; we can only thank them."
The reunion came after Lopez-Gomez's first court appearance earlier that day. Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans ruled that she lacked jurisdiction to release him because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had requested his detention for 48 hours. During the hearing, Riggans inspected Lopez-Gomez’s birth certificate and Social Security card, declaring, "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." Despite this, the arrest report indicated that Lopez-Gomez had claimed he was in the country illegally, although he insists he provided the trooper with his identification.
After the hearing, Lopez-Gomez returned to the jail parking lot where more than 30 protesters had gathered to demand his release. They greeted him with cheers and hugs, celebrating his return. Lopez-Gomez must return to the Leon County Courthouse on May 6, 2025, facing charges that stem from a recently passed law, SB 4-C, which a federal judge has temporarily barred the state from enforcing.
This law, signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on February 14, 2025, makes it a misdemeanor for undocumented immigrants over the age of 18 to "knowingly" enter Florida after eluding or avoiding inspection by immigration officers. However, U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Williams blocked its enforcement on April 4, 2025.
Two other men who were in the car with Lopez-Gomez also made their first court appearances on the same charge. The driver faced an additional charge for driving without a license. The circumstances surrounding Lopez-Gomez's case have raised questions about the treatment of U.S. citizens under increasingly restrictive immigration laws.
Thomas Kennedy, a spokesperson for the Florida Immigrant Coalition, attended the hearing and remarked, "It’s like this bureaucratic, dystopian nightmare of poorly written laws. We are living in a time when this man could get sent to El Salvador because, what, is he going to be treated like a stateless person?"
Legal experts have criticized the situation as a violation of Lopez-Gomez’s rights. Amy Godshall, a legal fellow with the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida, stated that his detention was based on a "patently false allegation that he entered the state while undocumented," despite the presence of his mother with his Social Security card and birth certificate in court.
Lopez-Gomez's case highlights the growing tension between state laws and federal immigration policy. As states like Florida implement stricter immigration laws, the potential for wrongful detentions of U.S. citizens increases, raising serious concerns about civil rights and due process.
As the situation unfolds, advocates continue to call for a reevaluation of the laws that led to Lopez-Gomez's arrest. His mother’s emotional plea for justice resonates with many who fear that similar cases could occur in the future, leading to further injustices for American citizens caught in the crosshairs of aggressive immigration enforcement.
Lopez-Gomez's story serves as a stark reminder of the complexities surrounding immigration laws and the potential consequences for individuals who find themselves entangled in a system that may not adequately recognize their rights. As he prepares to face the upcoming court date, the community remains vigilant, advocating for fair treatment and justice for all citizens.
