A Southwest Airlines flight attendant, Lorenzo Thompson, was taken into custody by ICE at the Nashville airport on July 14, 2026 after getting off of a flight. Immigration officials say he entered the U.S. in 2021, was authorized to stay for six months, but overstayed – he cooperated while being taken into custody and remains detained pending immigration removal proceedings.
There’s a GoFundMe for him that tells his side of the story – that he fled life-threatening abuse in Jamaica, has a pending asylum application, holds valid employment authorization, has no criminal record, and had been working lawfully as a flight attendant.
Lorenzo came to the United States legally from Jamaica in 2021, seeking safety from life-threatening abuse. Since arriving, he has worked tirelessly to build a stable life, following every legal step toward citizenship. He has no criminal record. No parking tickets. He holds a valid work visa, has a pending asylum case, and is a dedicated Flight Attendant for a beloved airline.
Despite his documented status and commitment to doing things the right way, Lorenzo was unexpectedly detained by ICE on July 14th after returning back to base from a work trip. This has put his career, stability, and future in jeopardy.
Credit: GoFundMe
This story is causing a lot of confusion. It is being framed in some discussions as Southwest Airlines employing an illegal immigration as a flight attendant. That actually does not appear to be the case. Bear with me.
I spent years managing immigration cases at work. It can actually be true that he overstayed her permission to be in the U.S. and also that he held valid work authorization. Immigration law is complicated!
Reporting says that he had a “valid work visa” but that’s almost certainly an Employment Authorization Document. Federal regulations allow someone with a pending asylum application to receive employment authorization. That’s not an immigrant visa. All three of the following can be true simultaneously:
- Thompson overstayed his original authorized admission.
- He later filed an asylum application and obtained permission to work.
- ICE can place him in detention for removal proceedings while an immigration judge decides removability and any application for protection.
Southwest absolutely requires work authorization before employing a flight attendant. A valid asylum applicant Employment Authorization Document works.
He reportedly fled “life-threatening abuse” but we don’t know how supportable his asylum claim is since we don’t know who threatened or abused him, when this occurred, whether Jamaican authorities were unable to unwilling to protect him, or what asylym ground is being claimed (race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group).
It’s claimed that he’d followed “every legal step toward citizenship”” but until asylum is granted, he’s asking for protection from removal and not yet seeking citizenship. His lack of criminal record is not a defense to an overstay allegation, either.
What we know for certain at this point is that ICE detained a Southwest flight attendant for an alleged 2021 overstay even though he apparently had federal permission to work and says he has a pending asylum claim. As of this writing over $38,000 has been raised for this Southwest Airlines flight attendant.
Gary,
This is more of IVE chasing low hanging fruit to make numbers rather than doing any investigative law enforcement.
GoFundMe is problematic: I’m not here to dispute Thompson ‘s claim, but I’ve spotted a couple of misrepresentations, where I knew there were more to their stories.
I’ve tried to flag those to gfm, but it seemed it was only possible to request a refund: there was nothing we can do if we didn’t donate.
Asylum seeker? No! He is part of the rebel alliance and a traitor. Take him away!
Finally a rational and fact based post about immigration. Man does NOT have a work visa. Deliberately conflate them to get sympathy.
EAD doesn’t give you legal status. You can be illegal entry with given EAD. Most people misunderstand that EAD is not a proof of illegal status.
So, not going after “the worst of the worst” after all? Huh. It’s almost as if that was a lie. Sorry, an alternative fact.
Sure seems like the culmination of over a decade of dehumanizing rhetoric and scapegoating of immigrants. From the very start, June 16, 2015 – “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” ; January 11, 2018 – “Sh*thole countries”; May 16, 2018 – “These aren’t people. These are animals.”; June 19, 2018 – “Infest our country” ; December 16, 2023 – “Poisoning the blood of our country”; April 2, 2024 – “No, they’re not humans, they’re animals.”; September 10, 2024 – “They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats… they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”; October 7, 2024 – “A lot of bad genes in our country” ; December 9, 2025 – “Hellholes… filthy, dirty, disgusting.” And additional context doesn’t make a single one of those any better. The hate has been omnipresent the entire time.
Hurting these people hasn’t helped you or I in any way; it’s actually made us worse, because we’ve lost our core values and humanity along the way as a society. We were and are supposed to be better than this. As I’ve said before on here, bipartisan comprehensive immigration reforms are sorely needed. There was no good reason the attempts in 2014 or 2024 should not have happened. Best time to ‘fix’ this is now.
“Immigration law is complicated!”
Especially in the United States (doesn’t have to be, Congress!), and especially in the United States when the administration in charge of enforcement does not even pretend to care about following it.
Someone who overstayed their visa with cockpit access… southwest should face repercussions for this.
1990…..We are a country of laws. Every single president has stood on the same grounds on immigration and deportation. But because now people hate Trump all of a sudden Immigration law doesn’t matter. We have a process, it has to be followed! If other people can do it, so can he.
This is someone who we need in this country. He benefits society and causes no harm. Ridiculous xenophobia hurts not just this man but all of us.
All illegals routinely file asylum applications as a matter of course. Few of these are granted because the applicant rarely qualifies as persecuted class. So having a pending asylum application doesn’t mean anything.
And no, fleeing “life-threatening abuse” doesn’t qualify someone as an asyleee. If the abuse is because of domestic issues, that does not qualify, as the persecuted classes must be based on “race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.”
I am from a family of immigrants. My mother followed the rules. My father followed the rules (separately). My wife followed the rules. My daughter-in-law followed the rules. My sister-in-law followed the rules. My brother-in-law followed the rules.
At work, I’ve helped well over a dozen immigrants enter the US legally by following the rules.
It’s an insult to everyone who wants to come here and does so by following the rules — which can take work, commitment, and years — to conflate them with those who come here and don’t follow the rules.
I support immigration. Follow the damn rules.
Our immigration system encourages people to enter illegally or overstay and to make false asylum claims. In their position you or I would do it too.
We need to design a system which does not reward or encouraging breaking the law and lying to our government as the first steps in the process. A system which does not provide billions of cash to traffickers. No other country on Earth has such a perverse immigration system. It’s indefensible.
Well thought out and factual article, Gary! Thank you.
As for the flight attendant, do airlines hire people from other countries and have them home-base in the US? If so, could Southwest get an immigration visa for him?
Remove him he knew the rules. As a minority and son of a immigrant who came illegally this is offensive. So are the self hating whites who think by defending him they are doing right. Never fails any time any year any decade your group picks the absolute worse side. Then you think we love you. Please try again. Leave your entitled white bubble.
@Lori — Selective enforcement. We do not punish the corporations who are the employers who break those very immigration laws you hold dear; or the wealthy who break our tax laws; or the politicians who break our constitution. What’s an emolument? An insurrection? Doesn’t matter. Naw, naw… ‘get that filthy Jamaican outta here! Because laws!’ *facepalm*
He followed the rules.
Abolish ICE.
Vote.
Unconfirmed but according to two sources inside Southwest, the flight attendant in question was arriving into BNA from a turn to the Caribbean. So he left the country and was re-entering.
Found it odd that no news source or even the union mentioned the origin of the flight or where in the airport. I mean, look at the WN passenger detained by ICE the other day in Denver. Videos abound. Most stories mention boarding a plane to California/Oakland when it happened. Details not present here. Combine this with the somewhat inaccurate information (more like incomplete as well) in the fundraiser and the general confusing nature of the different immigration mechanisms supporting how he could be in the US on an overstayed visa while also working… it adds up.
I once had a passenger who had been mistakenly put on an international flight instead of one to LaGuardia. They were sent right back… but the problem was they had entered the US nearly 20 years prior as a tourist and never left. They’d since been married but hadn’t left the country. They got deported (as if multiple people weren’t already getting fired over the initial screw up, the $15k Lufthansa ticket we had to buy sealed the deal).
He overstayed his visa. It’s that simple. Maybe someone here that has a problem with that can enlighten me on which countries just allow someone that has overstayed the length of their visa just to hang around and work. Why do you think all other countries have exit customs?
@George Nathan Romey — Careful, with the heat wave, your strawmen might catch fire. Conflating electronic exit tracking and physical customs desks misses the point. The flight attendant was working on a valid federal EAD issued under US law, not “just hanging around.”
We have a complex, broken system in the US in desperate need of bipartisan, comprehensive reforms. But, demanding strict enforcement of visa dates while ignoring the legal work permits handed out by that same government isn’t defending the “rule of law.” It’s selective enforcement.
@1990 He overstayed his visa. I can assure you that if I’m going through exit customs at SYD and I’ve overstayed my visa I’m getting pulled, questioned, and likely forbidden entry again. But again when your life experience involves living in your parent’s basement you have no clue as to how the world work. I work authorization does not supersede the expiration date of a visa.
Wow @courtney (or should I call you Karen), racist much? So unfortunate that you believe the Fake News. If you were intelligent enough to do your own research you’d realize that immigrants are statistically less likely to commit crimes than American citizens. But, hey, why believe that. It just destroys the narrative that immigrants and particularly black and brown immigrants are dangerous.
More distractions over an illegal war that is destroying our economy and protecting Republican pedos.
As retired ICE Special Agent, this individual should have never been detained unless the asylum claim was denied or specifically flagged for fraud. This is simply padding the numbers and does not make America safe. In fact, we lost a reliable taxpayer. No doubt this employee traveled internationally for Southwest and would have been electronically processed without issue. To inflate numbers, overstay reports are generated and low hanging fruit are arrested for attention to keep the cult energized with bigotry and racism. Yes, overstay is wrong and a violation but process the asylum claim before you fill the quotas. Just BS.
@George Romey — Dropping the ‘Nathan,’ I see.
Your Sydney example actually proves my point. Like our pal, @This comes to mind, I go Down Under about once a year. They are strict there, for sure, especially at Customs (leave your fruit behind!). However, if you overstay in Australia, Border Force handles it when you present yourself at passport control to leave. They don’t arrest and deport Qantas or Jetstar flight attendants on domestic turns who hold valid working visas while their other applications process.
Back in the US, nobody is claiming an EAD renews a ‘tourist’ visa. Existing US law allows people with pending cases to receive federal work authorization so they can work legally while awaiting a decision. Blaming a worker or an airline for using a federal work permit that Congress created isn’t “understanding how the world works.” It’s ignoring written law to indulge in xenophobia, racism, or whatever flavor of bias you (and the rabid base) prefer.
Drops the Nathan; drops the thin-veil. Ahh.
@1990 It depends on the AI and yes I use my real name. You don’t. I wonder why? But that’s a rhetorical question.
You have no clue as to how the world works. No wonder people make fun of you on this site.
I’m sure there is more to the story, but I will point out that he cooperated and is still alive.
@1990 – I agree that employers need to be held accountable if they didn’t follow the law. Also lazy welfare recipients (aka democrat voters, remember the democrat party is for the poor so it is in their best interest to keep their voters that way) need to be tossed from the rolls and get a job.
@1990: If he were working a turn to/from, say, Dominican Republic and was re-entering the US at BNA on the return, and immigration check there flagged, would that be any different?
All of the above cases can be true, but in my experience, those with asylum claims can’t come/go from the country.
Sounds similar to what Melania Trump did when she over stayed her visa and worked before she had one.. Yet she wasn’t removed. Instead she brought her parents her via chain migration.
> those with asylum claims can’t come/go from the country.
I once overheard a young man on a city bus explaining to his friend that he shouldn’t go home to visit his family while he was claiming to have been persecuted in his home country.
What a screwed up system we have.
@NedsKid, @nsx at FlyerTalk — As I understand it, on a domestic turn, an employee working under a valid federal EAD is operating legally within US borders. For international flights, asylum applicants can travel abroad if they hold an approved Form I-131, so long as they don’t return to the country where they claim persecution. These days, I wouldn’t trust an ICE agent appreciating that nuance, though. So, the real issue here is not a worker breaking immigration rules; it’s two federal agencies contradicting each other, where one issues legal work authorization and the other treats the holder as an enforcement target for using it.
@George Romey — Call me/yourself whatever you wish, but I don’t see an actual rebuttal. As our bud, @Mike P would say, “I accept your surrender.”
@Michael Mainello — Now, that is quite a new-take on ‘choose life.’ As for your red-herring on ‘welfare recipients,’ that’s sounds straight from Newsmax to your keyboard.
@1990 – I will accept your surrender also.
@Thing One
@BA
100% agree with you. The previous 4 years the administration hung a “welcome” flag on our pervious borders and passed out money, cell phones, and accommodations like they were all invited guests. I’m all for immigration, “legal” immigration and following the proper procedures. I get so sick of hearing all these whining reasons for ignoring our laws and then being called “racist” and other charming names that have rapidly lost any meaning from overuse. I partially agree with 1990 (strangely enough) in that we need a comprehensive bi-partisan reform. However, previously there was a very loose interpretation of enforcement (or shall I say, complete lack of enforcement of the laws that govern this country) What is laughable is other countries actually enforce things like overstaying a visa or just not leaving a country when you have overstayed your welcome, but somehow it is racist to do so in ours. Go figure.
@D Fray – Comprehensive reform makes sense, until you speak to a Democrat. They don’t want productive, self-sustaining, educated citizens that assimilate into America. Democrats need more poor, uneducated, government dependent immigrants. Remember the Democrats need more poor people to vote for them.
1990 can call me and other like minded people all kind of names from his thesaurus (Google search), but their actions (see their slobbering over the DSA) prove otherwise.
@1990: On domestic, yes, shouldn’t be any problem. But if he’s operating an international flight, then should be his responsibility to adhere to this. I guess it’s another unanswered question in this whole saga.
Southwest is rare in that it allows flight attendants to completely opt out of flying internationally such as those who cannot obtain a passport for a variety of reasons or are not allowed to enter certain countries (who may not allow entry to persons for past criminal activity that wouldn’t prohibit being a F/A for a US domestic airline). This was a compromise back when AirTran was acquired and international service started. Many, many WN F/As at the time did not have passports. Some didn’t want them for “privacy” reasons or had no desire to fly internationally. I would hope generally this F/A had self opted-in on this.
The point in the end is that the laws are confusing, often contradictory, and a lot is incumbent on the individual to figure out how to comply in an environment where enforcement isn’t as much based on the letter of the law but political feelings (both whether to enforce or not). I guess this is why we need immigration attorneys. It’s a crappy situation for someone to be in.
Ironic that the “just obey the law” crowd continually supports a fat orange Pedo who, uh, doesn’t ever obey the law.
@Michael Mainello
And the Republicans need more uneducated morons to vote for them (who also seemingly support pedophilia, btw).
“Smart people don’t like me.”
“I love the poorly educated.”
@NedsKid — Well said and great AirTran reference. When laws are contradictory, and enforcement is driven by shifting political whims (or literal ‘quotas’), compliant workers and employers get caught in the crossfire. Southwest’s internal bidding system allows flight attendants to stay on domestic turns, where the valid federal EAD provides the legal coverage to work. (That’s actually a great tie-in with the recent United vs. Southwest bidding-system approaches from earlier this week on here, as well as at OMAAT and LALF).
@D Fray — I’m glad we agree that comprehensive reform is sorely needed; that’s the point I’ve been making here all along. I’d just frame it slightly differently, because I don’t see anyone here “ignoring” the law; I see the existing laws as contradictory and enforcement selective.
@Michael Mainello — Oh, you though we were debating? Bah. No. Just calling out your red herrings. George and I were sort of sparring for a bit, but he gave up. Wait, are you now his mercenary? Hope he paid up-front!
@1990 how cute. I will give you 1 point for never providing a counter point to an opponents position. So your current cumulative score is infinity -1.
@Michael Mainello — Oh, so close. Subtracting 1 from infinity doesn’t change the value… That is quite fitting, though. Your points match your argument… imaginary.
Visa then asylum. Well coached.
@G19JHP — Enter legally on a visa, and apply for asylum within the statutory 1-year window under the 1980 Refugee Act… How dare someone actually follow federal law. How. Dare. They.
@1990 – Denial is your standard answer to any counter point.
@Michael Mainello — Student, please turn off the ‘projector’ when you’re done using it.
He seems like a good worker that failed to obey the terms of his VISA. Everyone needs to follow the rules. No line cutters. “he fled life-threatening abuse” is that really true or just something his attorney told him to say? There are tens of millions of illegals making similar claims. Is the USA really supposed to take in all these people? Hard pass.
If you follow the rules, you don’t have to worry about being arrested by ICE.
ICE has a difficult job and I appreciate their hard work and sacrifice.
Since SCOTUS recently made what I consider to be the wrong decision on birthright citizenship, we can all expect ICE to be more aggressive on arresting more categories of people not authorized to be here. They are no longer just going after convicted criminals with deportation orders from a court. The gloves are off now.
.
@OnePatriot77 — “Everyone needs to follow the rules.” That’s the thing. The rules themselves are contradictory. Federal law grants individuals the legal right to enter on a visa and apply for asylum, while enforcement simultaneously penalize them for doing the thing the statute permits. You can’t legally invite someone to use a pathway while treating the use of that pathway as an offense.
It’s a bit like multiple officers screaming “Remain in the vehicle!” and “Get out of the vehicle!” at the same time, and then shooting when the motorist can’t obey both. (Thankfully, this is just a hypothetical… right… RIGHT…) When the law is a catch-22, compliance becomes impossible by-design. So, like some of us have been saying, reforms are sorely needed, here.
All these comments about overstay: Visas are about entry. It is entirely possible to be in a country legally without having a valid visa to enter the country. I have on multiple occasions been in a country and applied to change the permitted term of stay. Completely normal.
And it can get more complex. 40 years ago proximity became much more, when she arrived she had no idea it would be 13 years before she would set foot in her home country again. Almost two years with no valid visa at all, temporary work authorization–and perfectly legal.
I didn’t like them back then, but except for one woman I think they were just doing their job. The Gestapo, though, is just looking to run up a score. Cruelty preferred.
Agree that immigration law needs reform and that if one really wants to cut into illegal immigration hitting those doing the hiring would be a better turn. However, it is a fact that the majority of new jobs on the monthly job report go to people who were not born here.
@jack the ladd — We talkin’ before or after He fired the BLS commissioner? Regardless, I’m sure the numbers are independent, credible, and accurate; nothing to see there. All good. We are indeed living in a ‘golden’ age… (sorry, that’s a typo, I see now it says: ‘Gilded.’)
I would love for a court or a jury to determine this guys legal status rather than some overweight incel who is finally employed thanks to non-existent ICE hiring standards.
@Winston – You a partisan tool of the left.
“I would love for a court or a jury to determine this guys legal status” They already do that.
“.. some overweight incel who is finally employed thanks to non-existent ICE hiring standards.” That is a lie perpetuated by ignorant left wing tools, look in a mirror for an example.
@Winston — Looks like triggered Michael (…shh, shh, he thinks this is View from the Right Wing. Let the ‘snowflake’ have is ‘safe-space.’)
@1990 – everyone here knows that you want illegal aliens in the country because they vote Democrat . You could care less about the law you just want power..
@Mike Mainello :
So what you are saying is that most of the inbred rednecks (read: MAGA) in Red States are actually on the right side of the gaussian curve when it comes to common sense and intelligence?
Hmmm.never knew that.
@Mike Mainello — I’m surprised you haven’t pounced on this yet… Did you see that 6,600 non-citizens were “accidentally” registered to vote in New Jersey, and that about 400 may have actually voted? While it allegedly “did not change the outcome of any election” that’s a pretty big mistake, no? Sounds like we should suspend elections indefinitely, and have a king. By the way, I’m liking this casual ‘Mike’ (instead of the overly formal Michael). Nice touch!
(And, pardon any delay in my responses, today. I was just enjoying the most enlightening “20 minute” phone call with the esteemed Senator from Kentucky, who is very much alive, and well, and totally with-it, at least through early August, specifically, no reason to emphasize that, just saying.)
He wasn’t in the USA legally; her broke the law and most countries would kick him out or arrest him.
Southwest Airlines needs to improve its security protocols. This person, or other people like him who work for airlines, could be able to smuggle guns, bombs, etc. through security much more easily than the average person.
@jacobin777 – Democrats lust for power, money and impressionable children. But tell me how superior you are.
@1990 – The usual response from you Diversion, Deception or Deceit. I thought you told me there were never any illegals registering or voting, but that is topic for another time.
@1990: Yes, you had quite the conversation, but we had to let others play through as the Senator and I were taking in 18 holes in Augusta this morning.
@Michael Mainello And are the courts and juries making these ICE decisions in the room with us right now?
@Winston. Don’t be a partisan idiot. ICE is following the law and arresting aliens with deportation orders. If a citizen is accidentally arrested it, they are released quickly. If you have verifiable proof a citizen has been deported, then prove. If not, then go educate yourself.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportations_of_U.S._citizens_in_the_second_Trump_administration
@NedsKid — Just finished another 18 with him in Jersey this morning. Honestly, I know he said he’s retiring, but he probably has 2-3x more terms in-home. Talk about stamina!
@Michael Mainello — You’re making the Democrats seem way more cool and more powerful than they actually are. Like, I wish they were these actual badass radicals you claim them to be. Because, instead, they’ve been acting like a controlled-opposition this whole time, from my perspective. Anyhoo… keep demonizing those boogeymen!
*in-him
@Winston: “This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia’s quality standards. The specific problem is: Many references are broken, presumably after split. Please help improve this article if you can. (February 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message)”
The 3 deaths cited were for citizens that broke the law.
Deportations of the children was voluntary. They could have stayed with family, but decided to leave with their illegal parent.
Get a real source. The echo chamber will make you deaf.
@1990 – Democrats are cool, they promise to give people everything they want for free in exchange for their vote. It is too late once reality smacks them in the face.
You should post those comments on Wikipedia to help clean up the article. I’m sure if you call them partisan morons and insult their sources enough that your alternative facts will soon become truth!
@Winston – That was a quote from not me WIKIPEDIA. “This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia’s quality standards. The specific problem is: Many references are broken, presumably after split. Please help improve this article if you can. (February 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message)”
What “alternative facts will soon become truth!”? I quoted from mainstrean news sources
BTW. You are the “partisan moron.”
Oh, you fellas are still going on about this? Keepin’ the dream alive, I guess. @Winston, hit him with a ‘I know you are, but what am I?’ reply, next. @Michael Mainello loves that!
@1990 – How you doing Mr. Cool? Made more promises for votes you know will never be filled?
How’s the DSA working out for your? Are you a party leader now?
How many illegal invaders, or are they immigrants, are you housing? feeding? providing legal services? registering to vote?
Democrats – The Party of (never filled) Promises (and lies).
@Michael Mainello — Still projecting? Yikes. 100 days. Those inflation numbers aren’t looking good, mah man. Please, do ignore the economy (no, better yet, say it’s the greatest its ever been! The Dow!), and keep scapegoating those browns and trans. Price of eggs… price of gas… price of homes… they’re eating the cats… they’re eating the dogs… and, some I assume, are good people. Winning!