UF Student Detained by ICE, Brought to Miami Detention Center

Update 4/9/2025: An ICE spokesperson confirmed that Zapata Velásquez has chosen to self-deport to his home country of Colombia.

A University of Florida student has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — marking what appears to be the first case of a Florida college student being picked up by the federal agency amid President Donald Trump's latest immigration crackdown.

On March 28, 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.

"He's a brilliant boy; he's an athlete. We want him to be given the opportunity to finish his degree and return to Colombia," his mother told NTN24. "He has no other intentions."

According to NTN24, Zapata Velásquez was brought to Krome Detention Center in Miami-Dade on April 1 and has not been heard from since. As of late Monday, he didn't appear in ICE's online detainee locator. An ICE spokesperson hasn't responded to New Times' questions about what this means and whether he has self-deported.

Zapata Velásquez, who is in the United States under an F-1 visa, which allows international students to study in this country, was reportedly in the process of renewing his visa when he was arrested.

After graduating from Santa Fe College in 2023, the UF International Center assisted him with the transition to UF, according to the Independent Florida Alligator.

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.

According to NTN24, ICE gave Zapata Velásquez two options after his arrest: to go to jail while his case is resolved in immigration court or sign his own deportation order.

In a statement released late Monday, Florida Rep. Yvonne Hinson (D-Gainesville) questioned the government's ability to revoke someone's non-immigrant visa due to an expired license and registration.

She asks: why not simply give him a ticket?

"Immigrants are under attack now more than ever," the statement reads. "We must speak up and not allow this to continue without voicing outrage."

A UF spokesperson confirmed Velásquez's enrollment status at the university but declined to comment on his detainment.

This is a breaking story and will be updated as events warrant.