Screenshot via @joanmason.living/Instagam
Audio By Carbonatix
A teacher at Mimi Yoga, a popular Miami yoga and Pilates studio, has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, according to a GoFundMe organized on his behalf.
Johan Blanco, a 44-year-old from Venezuela who teaches at Mimi Yoga’s Wynwood location, was detained by ICE on August 15 “just minutes before he was set to teach a sold-out Power Vinyasa class,” according to the fundraiser.
“That morning, his students arrived to an empty studio,” the fundraiser reads. “Johan never made it through the door.”
It is unclear where Blanco was taken into custody or where he is being held.
An ICE spokesperson sent New Times the following comment:
“Johan Blanco, an illegal alien from Venezuela, was arrested Aug. 15 during an immigration enforcement operation in Miami-Dade County. During a vehicle stop, officers determined Blanco had entered the country lawfully but failed to depart as required, and is in violation of immigration law. Blanco remained in the country unlawfully for 10 years. Blanco will receive full due process.
“Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”
The fundraiser, which describes Blanco as a “community pillar” and a “light in the lives of everyone who knows him,” says he has “spent years showing up for his community — on the mat and off it” as a “mentor, a healer, and a friend” to his students.
The money raised will go directly toward legal fees, family support, and other costs associated with his detention. By Monday afternoon, the fundraiser had brought in more than $40,700, exceeding its $40,000 goal.
“Johan has given so much to this community,” the fundraiser reads. “Now it is our turn to show up for him the way he has always shown up for us.”
Blanco began his yoga journey in 2008 and moved to Miami in 2015, according to his bio on Mimi Yoga’s website. He previously taught a traditional branch of yoga known as Hatha at embassies in Venezuela and now specializes in Power Vinyasa, a fast-paced, more athletic practice.
He has more than 24,000 followers on Instagram (@arqui_yogi), where he shares photos of himself in various yoga poses and clips of him teaching his Miami students.
This is a breaking story and will be updated as events warrant.
