Florida teen held without charges highlights ICE detention concerns in Orange County
Florida teen held without charges highlights ICE detention concerns
An Orange County high school student spent more than two weeks in jail despite facing no criminal charges, raising new concerns about how immigration detainees are being held and the cost to local taxpayers.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Javier Gimenez Rivero is a high school student from Venezuela, living in Orange County with a pending asylum claim and a valid U.S. Employment Authorization.
A federal judge says he was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and held in the Orange County Jail for 18 days "without criminal charges, a notice to appear, a warrant, a hearing, or any written notice of the basis of his detention."
His attorneys, Phillip and Josephine Arroyo, say Rivero is devastated and traumatized.
"I could never have imagined in my career as an attorney that I would see so many violations of our Constitution. It's very disheartening," Josephine Arroyo said.
The judge’s order
The backstory:
The federal judge who ordered Rivero be let out seethed in his decision: "In this country, we don’t enforce the law by breaking the law."
Allegations of re-bookings
The Memorandum of Agreement between ICE and the Orange County Corrections Department – also called a 287(G) – says, "If the alien is not transferred to an ICE field office or an immigration detention facility within 48 hours, the alien shall be released."
So how were Rivero and the Arroyos’ other clients held for 18 days?
"They're rebooked under a new booking number and when you go to the jail website it'll show you that they were just booked," Josephine Arroyo explained.
The jail’s response
The Orange County Correctional Institution told FOX 35 Reporter Marie Edinger, as of Wednesday morning, there were 372 inmates in the Orange County Jail with ICE holds — 49% of them have no local charges filed against them.
FOX 35’s Marie Edinger asked Orange County Corrections about re-bookings, and they confirmed it, saying in a statement, "These repeat bookings occur when an inmate is initially detained then transferred to ICE custody and subsequently returned to the jail later the same day. This matter was discussed with the local ICE representative, who indicated that the volume of arrests is exceeding the system’s current processing capacity."
Orange County’s response
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is mulling over his own lawsuit against ICE because of issues with the jail.
"We see right before us a complete breakdown of the American law enforcement system that should be concerning to every American," said Mayor Demings.
The US Marshals Service reimburses Orange County $88 a day for each ICE detainee, but the County says it actually costs them $180 a day.
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So Orange County taxpayers lose $92 per ICE detainee every single day.
Mayor Demings wrote to the U.S. Marshals Service last month, saying that’s amounted to over a 330-thousand dollar loss for Orange County taxpayers already… that hasn’t been reimbursed.
Mayor Demings said Tuesday he isn’t against filing a lawsuit if that’s what it takes to get the taxpayers’ money back.
"Our goal is always to avoid litigation if we have to. If we need to go into litigation, we go into litigation with the purpose of winning," he told the County Commissioners and the public.
What's next:
The victory of being removed from the jail does not affect whether an undocumented immigrant might ultimately be removed from the country. The argument is just for due process – saying ICE will have to proceed constitutionally through the court system if they want to deport someone.
Rivero, for instance, does now have a hearing to review his asylum claim. That was scheduled for 2028.
What we don't know:
The judge’s order says Rivero was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. FOX 35 News Reporter Marie Edinger reached out to OCSO, who said it was actually the Florida Highway Patrol who made the arrest. Edinger asked the FHP why troopers arrested Rivero despite him not having any criminal charges.
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The FHP wrote back, "We refer you to the Department of Homeland Security, as immigration detention decisions are the exclusive province that federal departments."
Edinger emphasized, FHP made the arrest but a judge says no warrant was ever filed against Rivero – so why was he arrested?
We are waiting for that answer.
The Source: This story was written based on court documents and information shared by Orange County, the Orange County Jail, and attorneys Phillip and Josephine Arroyo.