ICE Disappears Student Over Expired Driver’s License

The Miami New Times reports:

Felipe Zapata Velásquez, a 27-year-old food and resource economics international student in his junior year, was arrested by the Gainesville Police Department for driving with an expired license and registration tag, according to police records. ICE took him to Jacksonville, where deportation proceedings began, his mother told the Colombian news channel NTN24. According to NTN24, Zapata Velásquez was brought to Krome Detention Center in Miami-Dade on April 1 and has not been heard from since.

Zapata Velásquez, who is in the US under an F-1 visa, which allows foreign students to study in the U.S., was reportedly in the process of renewing his visa when he was arrested. Under current regulations, the U.S. Department of State can revoke non-immigrant visas, including F-1 visas, for people arrested for driving under the influence or similar offenses. ICE gave Zapata Velásquez two options post-arrest: go to jail while his case is resolved in immigration court or sign his own deportation order.

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