Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Continues to Target Indigenous People

Florida Police Wrongfully Arrest Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez

On April 17th, Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a member of the Maya Tzotzil Nation and dual citizen of Mexico and the US, was racially profiled and wrongfully arrested by Highway Patrol in Florida for being unlawfully present in the US. Lopez-Gomez, a Georgia resident born in Grady County, was arrested after the car he was riding in was pulled over by police for speeding during his commute to his construction job in Florida.

The arresting officer claims that he asked both the driver and the passenger (Lopez-Gomez) of the vehicle if they were in Florida illegally and that they said yes. However, the police report doesn’t clearly quote or identify Lopez-Gomez whose lawyer asserts that he never said he was in the state illegally. Lopez-Gomez speaks an indigenous language and is not fluent in English or Spanish, and miscommunication coupled with racial profiling most likely contributed to his arrest. Furthermore, Florida police arrested and detained Lopez-Gomez citing a new Florida immigration law that was temporarily blocked until April 29th per a federal judge’s order.

ICE Operations Target Indigenous Communities

Florida police put Lopez-Gomez on a 48-hr hold in jail per ICE request. A state judge later verified Lopez-Gomez’s US birth certificate and found no cause for his arrest, but claimed she could not override the ICE hold and release him. A US citizen should not be a subject of an ICE immigration hold, however, this is becoming a trend. Lopez-Gomez was eventually released, but his case raises concerns for racial profiling, due process, and procedural safeguards.

Lopez-Gomez’s case is another example of how Indigenous people have been targeted by Trump’s immigration crackdown. From the beginning of their mass deportation efforts, ICE has racially profiled, detained, and questioned Indigenous people for allegedly being unlawfully present in the country. Despite being US citizens, ICE continues to harass Indigenous people and demand they prove their citizenship. Indigenous leaders have advised individuals to carry their state ID, Certificate of Indian Blood, and Tribal IDs if they are able. ICE’s insinuation that Indigenous people are not citizens is not only racist, it is reflective of the legacy of the US’s genocide against Indigenous people.

While the Lemkin Institute continues to report on important immigration policy changes, we cannot offer individualized legal advice.

If you think you may be affected by policy changes, please contact an immigration lawyer.