Memphis student detained by ICE ‘not doing well,’ lawmaker says
“He wasn’t driving,” Rep. Gabby Salinas, said about 18-year-old Yassar Jose Lopez Soza. “They said there were drugs in the car. Nothing has come up. No charges, no speeding ticket, nothing. Absolutely nothing.” (Noah McLane/Special to The Daily Memphian)
“He has a lot of depression, insomnia, he’s extremely sad and he’s lost a lot of weight in the two weeks that I hadn’t seen him,” State Rep. Gabby Salinas said about a local high schooler who has been detained by ICE for more than a month.
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Gabby Salinas Yassar Jose Lopez Soza ice Memphis Safe Task ForceAarron Fleming
Once an intern, he never left, joining the staff full-time in 2022 as an education reporter. He moved to public safety in 2023, where he covered some of the city’s biggest court cases, including the criminal trials for those charged in the deaths of Tyré Nichols and rapper Young Dolph. He also chronicled the Shelby County Jail and the deaths that have occurred at the facility.
He now provides suburban coverage, focusing on Desoto County and the surrounding municipalities.
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