Gainesville coach pleads for help as student-athlete remains in ICE custody

Editor’s note: Per GHS football coach Ashour Peera on Wednesday morning, Jimenez’s bond hearing has been moved to Thursday.

Gainesville High School student-athlete Sebastian Jimenez was taken from his Gainesville apartment, along with three family members, and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Aug. 22.

Jimenez, who is a punter and kicker for the Hurricanes, played in Gainesville’s home game against Belleview on Friday, Aug. 21. The following day, he was missing.

First-year Gainesville football coach Ashour Peera said he received an email on Saturday from a friend of the Jimenez family stating that no one was home at the apartment and no one had heard from any of the family.

“It was a shock to us,” Peera said. “We tried calling, had players start calling, and no one could find them. So right then, I mean, I thought the worst.”

Peera went to the family’s apartment on Sunday, but he received a phone call from Jimenez when he got there. Jimenez told him that they had all been picked up by ICE, and they took each member separately, starting with his stepdad and then his sister.

“His stepdad was removed in shackles, and his sister was removed, handcuffed,” Peera said. “His mother was picked up from work and then he was on his way home Saturday, knew nothing of what was going on, and they picked him up. They separated the family.”

ICE transported the 17-year-old Venezuelan, who plays football, soccer and baseball at GHS, to a Texas detention facility, along with his mother. Peera said the only two detention centers that can house juveniles are in Texas.

According to the Gainesville Sun, which first broke the story, the teen’s stepfather is Brazilian and was transported to a Jacksonville ICE facility, along with Jimenez’s 28-year-old sister, who is also Venezuelan.

“It’s been very rough for him,” Peera said. “He’s called me, since he’s been detained, probably about seven times. One time was before our game last week. He had a chance to deliver a message to the team that he loves all of them, misses all of them, and, he doesn’t want them to worry about him; that he wants them to focus on the game and just reassurance, but you could hear in his voice how distraught he was.”

Peera said he was uncertain why ICE stepped in, noting that Jimenez and his family have been in the U.S. for the past decade.

“Nothing concrete that we can narrow it down to,” he said. “The only thing I could think of was that things changed in Venezuela; some laws had changed, because he had a pending asylum case, and I guess it just didn’t matter. Whatever turmoil had occurred in Venezuela, where they removed their dictator and put someone new in place, changed some laws or rules on who can go and come from Venezuela. That might have triggered them getting picked up, but I don’t know.”

According to Peera, the reason why the family left Venezuela when Jimenez was 7 years old was that his mother and sister were both kidnapped, his father had received threats, and they felt like they were going to come and try to kidnap Sebastian, so they left the country.

Peera said they’ve spoken to several attorneys and also tried to reach out to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s office for help. Peera coached Rubio’s son, Anthony, at the University of Florida from 2023 to 2025.

“I spoke to [a] county commissioner today,” Peera said. “The mayor is going to be here later on today. Everybody’s trying to do something, and I just think that if we just keep putting it out there and trying to help him, the right person will fall in place.”

Peera said Jimenez and his mother applied for a bond hearing in Texas for next Tuesday, Sept. 8, despite being discouraged to do so. The hearing has since been moved up to Thursday, Sept. 3, per Peera.

“The people there are telling them, ‘Don’t bother, you’re wasting your time, you shouldn’t do this,’” he said. “It’ll only make it worse for you, really trying to bully and discourage them from defending themselves.”

Peera said, “They need to get out of there.”

“It’s not a good situation right now,” he said. “I wish I knew what I could do. I mean, I feel helpless. My whole career, I’ve committed to helping kids and I just feel like I can’t do anything. That’s why we’ve been trying to get the story out to see if it pulls on anyone’s heartstrings that might know someone or have a way of helping.”

Peera said when he spoke to Jimenez on Friday, he was doing okay health-wise. Peera said Jimenez is looking into legal representation, but “it’s very difficult.”

“They’re not being allowed to do certain things, and one of them was he wasn’t allowed to communicate with an attorney,” he said.

That’s why Peera is pleading for help.

“If anyone has any information, insight, or anyone that has beaten ICE on a case, could really help us. I mean, we just need good direction here,” he said.

Peera said they have resources, but they just don’t know where to direct them.

“This doesn’t seem like it’s being operated within the law,” he said. “It just seems like it’s different. They’re being treated like criminals over there, and they’re not criminals…he plays three sports here. He’s in numerous clubs. I mean, he’s a phenomenal teammate, great young man, and the student body here loves him.”

The students had various signs of support at Gainesville’s game last Friday against Buchholz, which the Bobcats won 43-6.

“And it didn’t stop there,” Peera said. “Their social media are flooding with support for Sebastian. They’re kind of in the same boat. They want to see what they can do to help. They want to make an impact and help their friend and get him back here.”

In an email reply to Mainstreet on Wednesday morning, Jackie Johnson, a spokesperson for ACPS, said the district could confirm Jimenez is a senior at GHS but could not provide any other details because of privacy concerns.