Giovanna Hernandez, a 24-year-old social worker originally from Mexico, was detained by immigration authorities in Leeds, Alabama, after being arrested during a traffic stop. The case has generated a wave of support on social media and among community organizations demanding her release, arguing that she has an exemplary record of service to the community.

The arrest occurred after local police accused her of reckless driving, an incident that led to the intervention of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Hernández is currently in immigration custody and faces a process that could culminate in her deportation to Mexico, a country to which she has not returned since her childhood.

An arrest that led to a complex immigration regularization

According to As revealed by Reuters, the arrest occurred last Monday, August 4, when officers in Leeds, Alabama, stopped Hernandez on charges of tailgating a police vehicle, driving erratically at 80 miles per hour, and cutting them off.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains that these maneuvers put other drivers at risk. Therefore, they stopped her to carry out the corresponding actions, resulting in a review that revealed the irregularity in her immigration status.

Her family, for its part, denies this version and assures that the only reason for the stop was a slight excess of speed. In statements reported by Reuters, those close to Hernández say that his record shows that he does not represent any danger and that his detention is more due to his immigration status than to a serious road incident.

A social worker raised in the United States

Giovanna has tried on several occasions to regularize her immigration status, but has faced multiple legal and administrative obstacles. She was unable to access the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program because she arrived in the United States after the established deadline, which left her outside of this protection.

According to her family, she began procedures in the past to obtain permanent residency, but they were frustrated by the complexity of the process. These failed attempts left her without immigration protection and vulnerable to deportation actions like the one she currently faces.

Giovanna arrived in the United States in 2008, when she was 7 years old, and grew up in Alabama. Despite legal barriers, she graduated as valedictorian of her high school, earned a bachelor's and master's degree in social work, and currently works for an organization that supports vulnerable youth. Following her arrest, ICE transferred her to a detention center while her immigration process continues. A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $8,500 to cover her legal defense, and an online petition calling for her release has thousands of signatures. Her immediate future will depend on the hearings scheduled in the coming weeks and whether the judge grants any avenue to stop her deportation.