A Mexican immigrant was arrested in Florida and will face a judge in the coming days on a charge under SB 1718 for transporting undocumented immigrants from Georgia.
One of the first arrests under SB 1718 is the case of a Mexican man arrested for allegedly driving without U.S. documents and transporting undocumented immigrants.
The man is identified as Raquel Lopez Aguilar, 41, according to a report by La Voz de America.
The Florida State Highway Patrol reported that Lopez Aguilar was driving a white GMC Savana van when agents intercepted and detained him in Hernando County on Aug. 21 after crossing the state border from Georgia.
In the vehicle were six passengers, all undocumented immigrants, the report adds.
Section 10 of SB 1718, enacted in May by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and which began operating last July, establishes that any person will be detained if caught transporting undocumented immigrants from any state to Florida.
Lopez Aguilar could now face human smuggling charges under the law, which could land him in prison for at least 15 years.
The Mexican consul in Orlando, Juan Sabines Guerrero, confirmed on the social network X (formerly Twitter) the arrest of the Mexican.
“Raquel, who tells us he was not driving, is arrested and charged with 5 counts of smuggling for crossing without documents from Georgia to Florida,” wrote the Consul.
Lopez Aguilar’s first state court hearing will be Sept. 21.
“September 21… Raquel’s next hearing to know the charges that the State Attorney will try to impute to an innocent person before a law that is clearly illegal and authoritarian,” added the Mexican Consul. “We are sure that in less than a month Raquel will be free”.
The accused is being defended by attorney Mark Arias, according to the Consul’s own information.
According to the police report, the vehicle allegedly driven by Lopez Aguilar was stopped because it had a “darker than legal tint on the windows behind the driver.”
SB 1718 is facing a lawsuit by several civil organizations in the Southern District Court of Florida, where a decision is expected on a stay of at least Section 10, which was initially rejected due to incomplete prosecution by the plaintiffs.