In the wake of a video purportedly showing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detaining a Lyft driver outside the main terminal of the Nashville International Airport before sunrise on Oct. 22, community members and local immigrant advocates quickly identified him.
People commenting on the video, recorded by the man’s stunned passenger and posted by Music City MigraWatch, recognized him as a Venezuelan man who went by Samuel and also worked as a barber. Nashville Noticias reported that he was 32 years old, his legal name was Salin Ramos, and cited a message from his partner who said Ramos was working to support his parents and children back in Venezuela.
“He is well-known there for being a good person,” she reportedly told the Spanish-language news outlet. “He just told me that he was picked up by immigration and asked me to take good care of the girls.”