UF student arrested, sent to immigration detention facility

GAINESVILLE — A University of Florida international student from Colombia who was renewing his student visa was arrested in a traffic stop and is being held by immigration agents in South Florida, his family says.

A Gainesville police officer stopped Felipe Zapata Velásquez, 27, on March 28, driving near the UF football stadium, and ticketed him because his sedan’s registration had expired in July 2024 and his driver’s license had expired in 2023, according to court records. 

Zapata Velásquez, a junior studying food and resource economics, had been living in Florida for four years. He was previously ticketed in December 2023 for an expired registration and driving without a valid license, and never paid the traffic fines, according to court records. 

A Democratic congressman, Rep. Maxwell Frost, whose district is in central Florida, said Zapata Velásquez had become the “latest victim” in what he called a kidnapping spree by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Felipe Zapata Velásquez is just the latest victim of Trump’s disgusting campaign against immigrants,” Frost said in a statement. “What should have been a routine traffic stop resulted in a nightmare as Felipe is now forced to live in the hell on Earth that is the Krome Detention Center while he awaits deportation orders.”

Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., a lawmaker whose district includes the university, has been a strong supporter of President Trump’s deportation plans. 

Zapata Velásquez was booked into the Alachua County Jail after the traffic stop. Within days, Zapata Velásquez was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to an interview his mother, Claudia Velásquez, did with NTN24 in Colombia.

"We never thought we would experience something like this,” she told the outlet. “It's too much for him, and for us, to have no information."

Zapata Velásquez’s family did not immediately return phone messages or texts.

Zapata Velásquez was taken to Jacksonville by ICE agents after his arrest, where his mother said they gave him two options: go to jail and await his case’s resolution in immigration courts or sign his self-deportation and go back to Colombia. 

According to NTN24, Zapata Velásquez was in the process of renewing his F-1 student visa when he was arrested.  

He chose to remain in the U.S. while his case was decided. According to NTN24, he was taken Tuesday to Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami, one of five ICE detention centers in Florida. 

A judge scheduled the arraignment for Zapata Velásquez in his criminal traffic case for the morning of April 16 in Gainesville. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he would be allowed to attend. The judge’s directive to Zapata Velásquez noted “mandatory court appearance required.”

At least 32 ICE holds have been placed on people arrested in Alachua County since March 2022, including 12 so far in 2025 alone. 

Florida Rep. Yvonne Hinson, D-Gainesville, said Zapata Velásquez’s detention by immigration authorities shouldn’t have happened over a traffic violation.

“Why not give a ticket, but to be detained for such an offense is outlandish and quite alarming,” she said in a statement. “Though the Department of State can revoke non-immigrant visas, including F-1 visas for arrests for certain offenses, such as driving under the influence, did registration and an expired license fall under the scope of arrest and detainment?” 

Hinson said immigrants in Florida are “under attack now more than ever.” 

The UF chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America said immigrants like Zapata Velásquez were being punished in ways that citizens aren’t. 

“Across the country, international students are being ruthlessly punished for statements and actions for which they would never face serious material consequences as citizens,” the group said in a statement. “We believe in the right of migration and the freedom to study without the threat of imprisonment and deportation at every step.” 

The student group attached a petition to hire an immigration attorney from the university’s Student Legal Services department, which had around 370 signatures. It also posted on Instagram an emergency protest urging ICE off campus at UF and demanding the university take action “to support Felipe and his family.” 

Democratic lawmakers in South Florida, including Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., have asked the Homeland Security Department to allow them to visit the Krome Detention Center amid complaints by family members of immigrants about overcrowding and deteriorating conditions.

This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at blunardini@ufl.edu. You can donate to support our students here.