Venezuelan college soccer player detained by ICE despite pending asylum case
May 27, 2026·Location: Detroit, MI
Country of origin: Venezuela

Karliana Yosdeylin Perdomo-Gotopo, a 20-year-old women's soccer player and business major at Cleary University in Michigan, was detained by ICE on May 26, 2026, during a traffic stop in Lincoln Park. Perdomo entered the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor in September 2022 at age 15, fleeing political persecution in Venezuela, and graduated high school with honors in Detroit in 2023. She had a pending asylum application and her mother believed she held valid Temporary Protected Status documentation through October 2026, though the Trump administration had previously ended TPS protections for Venezuelan nationals. A witness reported the stop appeared targeted based on her Latina appearance. Perdomo was transferred to North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan.
Timeline
Sources
- Detroit Free Press
- metrotimes.com
- ICE takes Cleary student-athlete from Venezuela into custody after Downriver traffic stop
thelivingstonpost.com·May 29, 2026·archived copy
- ICE Detains Venezuelan College Soccer Star in Michigan: Karliana Perdomo Is Part of the Women's Team in Cleary University
latintimes.com·May 29, 2026·archived copy
- newsfromthestates.com
- michiganadvance.com
- Cleary University student detained by ICE as changes 'rock' higher ed
aol.com·May 29, 2026·archived copy
- Cleary Women's Soccer Launches GoFundMe to Assist Teammate Picked Up by ICE
- michiganadvance.com
- Detroit Free Press
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