By Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Friends and family of an Alabama social worker detained by U.S. immigration authorities are pushing for her release days after she was pulled over for an alleged speeding violation, a case that reflects the broad sweep of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Giovanna Hernandez, 24, was stopped by local police while driving on Tuesday morning in her hometown of Leeds, near Birmingham, according to her brother, Dilan Hernandez. She was taken to a county jail and is now in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody there, ICE’s detainee locator showed.
Hernandez’s parents brought her to the U.S. from Mexico at age 7, her brother said. She was valedictorian of her high school class, has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work, and works with young people applying for college through a local non-profit organization, he said.
Trump, a Republican, has vowed to deport millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally, saying it is needed after high levels of immigration under his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden. While the Trump administration frequently highlights the cases of immigrants with serious criminal records, the number of people picked up by ICE with no previous criminal charges or convictions has skyrocketed since Trump took office in January.
State and local police have played a key role in Trump’s deportation pipeline, arresting people and holding them for ICE to take into custody.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Hernandez was driving recklessly when she was pulled over by ICE and local police.
“On August 5, Giovanna Hernandez Martinez was tailgating a law enforcement vehicle, passed them erratically at 80 MPH, and cut them off,” McLaughlin said. “Upon witnessing this reckless driving, ICE and local police initiated a traffic stop and discovered she was an illegal alien from Mexico. Unlike the Biden administration, we are not going to ignore the law.”
Dilan Hernandez said his sister was driving slightly above the posted speed limit on a highway. Reuters could not immediately ascertain the posted speed limit on the road.
The Leeds Police Department and Pickens County Jail, where Hernandez was being held, did not respond to requests for comment.
Hernandez was brought to the U.S. in 2008 and missed a cutoff date to qualify for deportation relief and a work permit under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, launched under former President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Trump tried to end that program during his first term but was rebuffed by the Supreme Court.
Dilan Hernandez, a 21-year-old senior at Christian Brothers University in Tennessee, said his sister was a role model who had shared the experience of adapting to life in the U.S. and guided him.
“That’s why I just really want more people to help her, since she was always willing to help everybody else,” he said.
SUPPORTERS RALLY
A Change.org petition calling for Hernandez’s release has more than 5,000 signatures as of Thursday, and a GoFundMe page has raised $8,500 to help cover legal expenses.
The petition calls for her immediate release, stopping deportation proceedings against her, and a pathway for her to remain in the U.S. legally.
Mariana Alvarez, who has been friends with Hernandez since college, said she worried about what could happen to her in jail or immigration detention.
“She’s a social worker. She’s a very gentle, straight-laced, church-going girl,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez, currently in medical school, said her friend barely remembers living in Mexico.
“The thought that this could end with her being sent there, away from her family, I’m definitely scared of that,” Alvarez said. “What would she do? Her whole life is here.”
(Reporting by Ted Hesson; Editing by Mary Milliken and Rod Nickel)
