U.S. citizen held over 30 hours by ICE despite birth certificate, Social Security card
Apr 19, 2025·Location: Leon County, FL

Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen born in Cairo, Georgia, who grew up speaking the Indigenous Maya language Tzotzil after moving to Mexico as an infant before returning to the U.S. four years ago, was arrested by Florida Highway Patrol on April 16, 2025 after being stopped for speeding while riding as a passenger with two men carrying Guatemalan IDs. He was charged under Florida's Senate Bill 4C, a state law criminalizing unauthorized entry that had been temporarily blocked by court order, despite presenting a Georgia ID. He was held at Leon County Jail on an ICE detainer without food, even after his mother, Sebastiana Gomez-Perez, and a community advocate presented his birth certificate and Social Security card. A Leon County judge confirmed his citizenship and found no probable cause for his detention, but said she lacked jurisdiction to order his release because ICE had requested a 48-hour hold. After roughly 30 hours in custody, he was released and reunited with his mother amid a crowd of protesters outside the jail, following public advocacy from civil rights advocates, journalists, and elected officials.
Timeline
Sources
- Mid-commute traffic stop left US citizen detained under an ICE order. Then, a Florida judge verified his US birth certificate
CNN·Apr 18, 2025·archived copy
- US citizen detained by ICE despite birth certificate freed
Newsweek·Apr 18, 2025·archived copy
- A US citizen was held for pickup by ICE even after proving he was born in the country
Associated Press·Apr 18, 2025·archived copy
Associated Press·Apr 18, 2025·archived copy
- PBS
- The Guardian
- NBC News
- The Kafkaesque Case of Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez Is a Warning to Us All
truthout.org·Apr 25, 2025·archived copy
- U.S. Citizen Detained for 3 Weeks After Immigration Officials Doubted His Birth Certificate: Attorney
insideedition.com·Jul 24, 2019·archived copy
- CourtListener
- CourtListener
- CourtListener
- torontosun.com
- US citizen held for ICE even after proving he was born in the country - Daily Democrat
- News outlet: federal judge blocks state immigration law after FHP arrest of U.S. citizen - Key Biscayne Independent
kbindependent.org·Apr 18, 2025·archived copy
- Federal judge extends block on Florida immigration law that led to arrest of a U.S. citizen
WLRN·Apr 19, 2025·archived copy
- projects.propublica.org
- nbcnewyork.com
- ninerswire.usatoday.com
- thebradentontimes.com
- Miami Herald
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