Congressman Maxwell Frost Statement on Trump Admin. Kidnapping UF Student
UF Student Detained By ICE, Being Held at Krome Detention Facility Has Not Been Heard from Since April 1st
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL-10) slammed Donald Trump and his Administration’s cruelty as a University of Florida student has become the latest victim in ICE’s kidnapping spree.
Felipe Zapata Velasquez is a 27 year old, third-year international student attending the University of Florida on an F-1 visa. On March 28th, he was stopped by Gainesville Police for a traffic violation and was arrested and later detained by ICE. Zapata Velasquez’s family has not heard from him since April 1st after he was taken to the Krome Detention Center in Miami-Dade.
In a statement, Rep. Frost says:
"Donald Trump and ICE are running a government-funded kidnapping program. Showing up in unmarked vans, with plain clothes officers, they are kidnapping people off the streets and jailing them inside of detention centers without due process and with little cause.
“Felipe Zapata Velasquez is just the latest victim of Trump’s disgusting campaign against immigrants. 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.
“Donald Trump ran on the promise of deporting violent criminals and gang members. Instead we’ve seen him kidnap and detain American citizens, legal visa holders like Felipe, and anyone who has spoken out against this Administration.
“Donald Trump wants us to believe that deporting every single immigrant in this country will solve our problems and make us safer. But there’s only one criminal responsible for the harm happening to the American people every day, and that’s Donald Trump.
“As a Member of the Oversight Committee, I vow to use every tool at my disposal to hold this Administration accountable.”
###