Dozens rallied outside of the county courthouse in Collier County, Florida on Friday in support of an undocumented immigrant facing deportation following a traffic stop.
Juan Daniel Gonzalez Lopez was arrested for driving without a license on Feb. 6 and is now facing deportation under a program called 287 G. The program allows deputies to initiate the deportation process for an illegal immigrant in the county jail system.
"How on earth is a man driving home to see his family from work, how is he a violent offender?" said Brian Oliva Infante.
Critics of the program said after meeting with Sheriff Kevin Rambosk in December, they were under the impression only illegal immigrants with a violent past would be deported.
"Now we are betrayed, and we will not stand for it," said Mandy Bayer, head of the Collier County Young Democrats.
Rambosk issued the following statement with Scripps station WFTX in Fort Myers, Florida:
"We have implemented this program responsibly and we administer it fairly and in accordance with the law. This program is one of the reasons that Collier County is the safest metropolitan county in Florida."
