American Citizen Detained Under ICE Hold in Florida Released After Court Review
On April 17, 2025, the Leon County Jail sent U.S. citizen Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez free after detaining him based on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement order since April 16, 2025. Lopez-Gomez born in Georgia experienced arrest by police during a traffic stop on April 16 where he faced Florida's Senate Bill 4-C charges that remain prohibited by judicial order. Judge LaShawn Riggans reviewed legitimate documents such as the birth certificate and Social Security card of Lopez-Gomez during his court proceedings. The judge recognized his lack of authority to free Lopez-Gomez despite no probable cause due to the ongoing ICE detainer.
Additionally the situation drew extensive criticism from civil rights organizations throughout the nation because Lopez-Gomez maintained strong evidence of being a U.S. citizen. Sebastiana Gomez-Perez felt desolate because she wanted to inform authorities "Where are you taking him because he belongs here." He is from here.'" American citizens face risks when state-level immigration enforcement authorities apply laws in a way that leads to racial profiling incidents in Phoenix. Such laws result in unconstitutional rights violations and produce unlawful detentions according to supporters of these systems. The case involving Lopez-Gomez demonstrates the difficult nature of state immigration enforcement interacting with federal immigration policies while affecting American citizens.