MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Felipe Zapata Velasquez’s family, along with a growing number of lawmakers, say he should not be in custody.
Florida Sen. Shevrin Jones is among those who are outraged over what they are calling a mistake.
As it stands, Velasquez sits inside the Krome Detention Center after being taken into ICE custody last week.
The University of Florida student vanished after a traffic stop in Gainesville.
Velasquez is from Colombia. His mother Claudia told a Colombian radio station, “My son was a year away from graduating. ICE is treating my son like a criminal and he is not.”
Now she and multiple lawmakers want to know how a minor traffic violation can turn into an immigration dispute.
“What are we, as a state and as a country? What message are we trying to send to students who are here legally, who are doing the right things to become productive members of society?” asked Jones.
He is not the only Florida lawmaker looking for answers.
Florida Rep. Yvonne Hinson released a statement, which read, in part:
“Why not give a ticket? But to be detained for such an offense is outlandish and quite alarming.”
Velasquez’s mother says her son had an expired driver’s license and was processing the I-20 form required to apply for a driver’s license.
She said after her son vanished in late March when ICE detained him, he traveled from Gainesville to Jacksonville and later to Miami-Dade County.
Lawmakers continue to sound the alarm on issues with how immigration is handled under the Trump administration.
“What we are seeing right now is absolutely not the way to move forward and the Trump administration, they really should pull back, slow down, work as a team with their colleagues on the other side of the aisle to see what does a bi-partisan measure look like in order to bring true immigration reform,” said Jones.
Velasquez allegedly agreed to sign a self-deportation agreement without access to an immigration attorney.
He was not included in the public ICE database for detainees in custody on Monday.
A GoFundMe page has been created to help with Velasquez’s legal expenses.
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