MIGRATIONFlorida Arrests Undocumented Migrant Under State’s New Law

By Yeny Garcia

A Mexican citizen taken into custody for allegedly driving without U.S. papers and transporting undocumented people was one of the first people to be arrested under Florida’s controversial SB 1718, considered the most restrictive state law regarding migrants in the United States.

Police records identified the man as Raquel Lopez Aguilar, 41. The Florida Highway Patrol said he was behind the wheel of a white GMC Savana van when officers intercepted and apprehended him in Hernando County on August 21 after he crossed the state line from Georgia.

After determining that Lopez Aguilar did not have documents proving he was in the U.S. legally, the agents searched the van and discovered six undocumented passengers.

Undocumented migrants arrested in the United States and accused of no other crimes are typically detained temporarily and, depending on the circumstances, may be placed into so-called removal proceedings, leading to deportation.

But under Florida’s new law, which took effect July 1, the act of knowingly transporting undocumented individuals into the state — even by a member of their own family — has been elevated to felony human smuggling punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Juan Sabines Guerrero, Mexico’s consul general in Orlando, listed a chronology of events leading to the Mexican migrant’s arrest in a September 3rd English-language post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Raquel, who tells us that he was not driving, is arrested and charged with 5 counts of smuggling for crossing from Georgia to Florida without papers,” the post said. He wrote that the Mexican government had secured a lawyer for Lopez Aguilar, who has a court hearing set for September 21, and will pay for his legal expenses.