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🇻🇪 Venezuela /Sports

US detains Venezuelan ex-soccer captain with pending asylum request

From El Nacional · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • U.S. immigration authorities detained a Venezuelan former college soccer captain, Claudia Carolina Rodríguez Caglianone, at Fort Lauderdale airport.
  • Rodríguez Caglianone, who has a pending asylum request and previously held Temporary Protected Status (TPS), was traveling to watch World Cup matches.
  • Her detention has sparked a campaign by family and a congresswoman seeking her release, highlighting concerns over increased immigration enforcement and the expiration of TPS.

U.S. immigration authorities have detained a Venezuelan former college soccer captain, Claudia Carolina Rodríguez Caglianone, at Fort Lauderdale airport, raising concerns among her family and supporters. Rodríguez Caglianone, 28, was traveling to North Carolina to watch World Cup matches with friends when she was arrested after passing through a TSA checkpoint.

Her detention comes amid heightened immigration enforcement efforts at airports and following the expiration of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans and other nationalities. Rodríguez Caglianone arrived legally in the U.S. in 2017 on a tourist visa, later applied for asylum, and received TPS in 2023. Her case has prompted a campaign by her family and Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who are advocating for her release from an ICE detention center in Pompano Beach.

In this moment, ICE agents are invading airports to catch law-abiding residents like Claudia. They are disrupting lives, wasting taxpayer money, and betraying the values of the United States.

— Debbie Wasserman SchultzCriticizing the detention of Claudia Carolina Rodríguez Caglianone and broader immigration enforcement tactics.

Wasserman Schultz criticized the detention, stating that ICE agents are "invading airports to catch law-abiding residents like Claudia." She argued that these actions disrupt lives, waste taxpayer money, and betray American values. The congresswoman also linked Rodríguez Caglianone's apprehension to the end of TPS, a program initiated under President Donald Trump, and the increasing arrests of migrants with pending asylum claims or expired visas.

Rodríguez Caglianone's family reports that she was initially taken to an ICE detention center in Miramar before being transferred to Pompano Beach. They have experienced periods of no communication with her. To support her legal battle, a GoFundMe campaign has been launched to raise funds for an immigration lawyer. Her former college coach at St. Thomas University described her as a "great leader" who motivated her teammates, even while injured.

She is a great leader. Always with the team. She has a great personality and motivates others. In fact, she was injured during her last season and couldn't play. But she was still there to support the team and push us to do our best.

— Michelle SmithDescribing Claudia Carolina Rodríguez Caglianone's character and leadership as a former college soccer coach.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Nacional in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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