• Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a U.S. citizen, was detained in Florida under an unconstitutional immigration law.
• His birth certificate and Social Security card confirmed his citizenship, yet ICE requested his detainment.
• A federal judge had previously blocked the enforcement of the law used to charge him.
• Public protests contributed to Lopez-Gomez's eventual release from Leon County Jail.
• The case highlights ongoing issues with state-level immigration enforcement actions in the U.S.

Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a U.S.-born citizen, was arrested in Florida under a new anti-immigration law that makes it a crime to enter the state as an “unauthorized alien.” Lopez-Gomez, 20, was charged with a misdemeanor despite presenting his birth certificate in court, confirming his citizenship, according to The Hill.

The arrest occurred on Wednesday when a Florida Highway Patrol officer pulled over the vehicle Lopez-Gomez was in for allegedly speeding. The arresting officer claimed in his report that Lopez-Gomez had stated he was illegally in the country, which the young man later refuted through his attorney, stating he had never claimed such, as reported by HuffPost.

Despite Judge LaShawn Riggans acknowledging the authenticity of Lopez-Gomez’s birth certificate and ruling that there was no probable cause to hold him, he remained in custody due to a federal ICE detainer that required local authorities to hold him for 48 hours. Riggans expressed that her court had limited jurisdiction in terms of releasing him under the ICE order, according to Forbes.

The case was further complicated by the fact that the Florida SB 4-C law, under which Lopez-Gomez was charged, had been temporarily blocked by a federal judge just weeks prior to his arrest. This law was challenged by the Florida Immigrant Coalition, alleging its violation of constitutional authority over immigration enforcement, as noted in HuffPost.

After spending a night in jail, Lopez-Gomez was released on Thursday following protests outside the Leon County Jail and public advocacy efforts. His mother, who attended court in support, expressed immense helplessness during the ordeal, emphasizing her son’s status as a U.S. citizen and the injustice of his treatment, according to Salon.

This incident has raised concerns about the enforcement of the law and the treatment of U.S. citizens under state immigration measures, reflecting broader issues within the U.S. immigration system, as highlighted by legal experts and advocates advocating for immigrant rights, according to HuffPost.