Florida has the toughest law against undocumented immigrants in the United States. The dreaded SB 1718 went into effect on July 1 of this year and it is now known that There is already a detainee who is being accused of “human trafficking”a serious crime typified in the new norm.
(Read here: These are the harsh rules that Florida contemplates against the undocumented)
This is the Mexican Raquel López Aguilar, a 41-year-old man originally from Chiapas, who is detained after being accused of transporting undocumented migrants from Georgia to Florida in a vehicle. He was arrested by Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) officers in Hernando County.
(See also: Learn about the harsh penalties for undocumented migrants in Florida, United States)
Under the new Law SB 1718, promoted by Governor Ron DeSantis, it is considered a felony to cross the Florida state border carrying undocumented persons.
Section 10 of SB 1718 states: “Any person who knowingly and knowingly transports within this state an individual who the person knows, or reasonably should know, entered the United States in violation of the law and is not has been inspected by the Federal government since its illegal entry from another country, commits a felony of the third degree.”
The seriousness of the crime increases to the second degree if you transport more than 5 people or a minor, the law establishes.
According to Univisión, the law adds human trafficking or smuggling to the list of “crimes” that can be considered “extortion activities”, which in Florida is considered a “first degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.” imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.”
Different versions of the same case
Both the Florida Highway Patrol and the Mexican consul have given different versions of the immigrant’s case.
The FHP assures that Raquel López Aguilar was transporting six people, including a minor. In addition, she maintains that when they detained him they verified that he had entered the United States illegally and that he had already been deported before.
Police also claimed that the passengers in the van were undocumented and that one of them was previously deported after committing a crime in Georgia.
For his part, the Mexican consul in Orlando, Juan Sabines Guerrero, said on Friday that Raquel López was arrested on August 21. The police officers stopped her to do a routine check, apparently because the windows of her truck were tinted and the windshield was smashed. He was driving on the I-75 highway, north of State Road 50. There they realized that the driver did not have legal status in the United States and that he was carrying other people who were in the same situation, the newspaper detailed. The nation.
Sabines explained that López is being held at the Hernando County Detention Center while investigations begin. He said he faces five smuggling charges, one for each person in the vehicle. He also announced that he already has legal advice.
In addition, Sabines stressed that López has the support of the Mexican Consulate in Orlando.
On the merits of the matter, Sabines assured that Raquel López Aguilar is innocent, since he has affirmed that he was not driving the vehicle.
“The curious thing is that he was not driving, so we will see what the prosecution will do to justify these charges that they want to impute to an innocent person who is dedicated to work,” Sabines asserted according to WFLA.
The only one they detained was Raquel, the consul said, “and the others were released because this is not an immigration case, it is a criminal case. Migration has nothing to do with it. Migration hasn’t even come.”
The consul reported that there is a $10,000 bond for Raquel López, money that she cannot pay for which she will remain in custody.
The next hearing will be on September 21, where the charges against López will be officially read.
“The state attorney will try to charge an innocent person against a law that is clearly illegal and authoritarian. We are sure that in less than a month Raquel will be released. In this way, we will defend each Mexican person who is a victim of this unconstitutional law,” insisted the consul.
On the other hand, the chain Telemundo reported that Raquel López has four charges for transporting undocumented persons, and that she faces possible deportation.
The aforementioned news chain also broadcast statements by Consul Sabines, who harshly criticized the Florida authorities. “I ask myself again, was it not because I was brown? Because this law is obviously racist. I don’t know if the same thing happened to a Mexican immigrant or to an Argentine with blue eyes and blond hair, I highly doubt it,” he said.
One of the undocumented immigrants who was in the vehicle declared for Telemundo. “From my point of view, we were not doing anything wrong for them to arrest us and accuse us; more to the driver, because we came from work, ”he said.
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