Felipe Zapata Velasquez, a 27-year-old University of Florida student, has voluntarily returned to Colombia following his arrest and subsequent transfer to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.
Zapata Velasquez was pulled over in Gainesville on March 28 for driving with a suspended license, an expired tag, and a mismatched license plate. During the stop, captured on police bodycam, he told officers he was an international student from Colombia, actively working to renew both his driver’s license and student visa.
Despite his explanation, he was arrested and later transferred to ICE custody on March 31. Officials confirmed that he was held at the Krome Detention Center in Miami-Dade before voluntarily departing the U.S. on April 6.
According to ICE, Zapata entered the U.S. in February 2023 on an F-1 student visa to attend Santa Fe College. However, his student status was terminated in October 2024 after failing to enroll. Although the University of Florida identified him as a third-year undergraduate majoring in Food and Resource Economics, his enrollment status was not active in the immigration system.
Zapata’s mother, Claudia Velasquez, stated that her son had been trying to correct his visa status and believes the situation stemmed from a bureaucratic error. “That doesn’t make him a criminal,” she said.
UF officials have not commented further on his immigration status.
