A Southwest Airlines flight attendant is in federal immigration custody after being detained by authorities following a work trip, according to government officials and union representatives.
CBS News revealed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Lorenzo “Enzo” Thompson on July 14 at Nashville International Airport in Tennessee.
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Federal officials said that Thompson entered the United States from Jamaica on a six-month visa in April 2021 and failed to leave after the visa expired. However, this framing has been disputed by the flight attendant’s colleagues and friends, as well as union members. They noted that Thompson has been pursuing legal status through an active asylum application and holds authorization to work.
“Since arriving, he has worked tirelessly to build a stable life, following every legal step toward citizenship,” a friend, Kristin Foster, wrote in a GoFundMe campaign organized for Thompson. “He has no criminal record. No parking tickets.”
“I was shocked,” said Edward Marq, a Southwest flight attendant and fellow member of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. “He is a union brother to me. Enzo came to America from Jamaica in 2021, he applied for and received a worker’s permit, so he applied to work with Southwest Airlines and he’s been with us all this time.”
“People describe Enzo as very loving, as very caring, very friendly, everyone that he has flown with has really enjoyed their flying and it is evident by the outpouring of support that I have seen on social media,” Marq added. “We’re worried about him, but it’s beyond an immigration case. It’s about a worker, it’s about a union member, it’s about a family. Everyone deserves that due process and to have their case heard fairly.”
Federal authorities, on the other hand, said Thompson was living in the U.S. without authorization after his initial stay expired.
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“ICE ERO New Orleans officers arrested Lorenzo Thompson, an illegal alien from Jamaica, at Nashville International Airport,” the Department of Homeland Security told NBC 5. “Thompson entered the United States lawfully on April 17, 2021, at the Miami Port of Entry with permission to stay for six months. Thompson never departed and remained in the U.S. illegally for five years in violation of the terms of his lawful admission.”
This comes during a time of increasing scrutiny over immigration. A report from earlier this year revealed that the Department of Homeland Security has issued tens of thousands of civil fines to undocumented immigrants under the Trump administration. Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House about 18 months ago, DHS has issued 103,000 civil fines totaling approximately $84 billion, according to a DHS official who spoke to Fox News Digital. The agency had collected about $1.2 billion in fine payments as of July.