Venezuelan soccer pro detained five months while visa applications sit in USCIS backlog
Aug 15, 2026·Location: FL
Country of origin: Venezuela

Homero Calderón, a professional soccer player from Venezuela who played for clubs in Venezuela, Portugal, Cyprus and Italy, has been held in an ICE detention center in Folkston, Georgia for about five months. He was pulled over for speeding by the Marion County Sheriff's Office in Florida in late February 2026, arrested for driving without a valid Florida license, and transferred to ICE custody despite having two pending applications with USCIS — a tourist visa extension and an EB-1A visa for people with extraordinary abilities. He is a father of two U.S. citizen children, ages 1 and 3, and recently missed his daughter's first birthday. His wife said that in 17 years together she had 'never heard him cry or ask for help like he has.' His family says he has no criminal record, and USCIS has a backlog of 11.3 million pending cases.
Timeline
Sources
- ICE detained a Venezuelan soccer pro. His case shows the immigration backlog crisis
NPR·Aug 15, 2026·archived copy
KNPR·Aug 15, 2026·archived copy
KPBS·Aug 15, 2026·archived copy
vpm.org·Aug 15, 2026·archived copy
opb.org·Aug 15, 2026·archived copy
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