The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
April 18, 2025

U.S.-Born Man Arrested Under Florida's Latest Anti-Immigrant Law After Crossing State Lines
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A U.S.-born citizen who was arrested in Florida, accused of being
undocumented and entering the state "unlawfully," has been released
after spending the night in jail on a 48-hour hold requested by
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE. Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez is
from Georgia and was driving across state lines to his construction job
in Tallahassee when he was pulled over and then taken into custody. He
remained jailed despite presenting a copy of his birth certificate and
Social Security card, brought to court by his mother. Lopez-Gomez was
arrested and charged under a contested anti-immigration law known as SB
4C, signed by Florida Republican Governor Ron De Santis two months ago,
despite a federal court order temporarily blocking the measure from
being enforced.


.