Homero Calderón, a Venezuelan professional soccer player, has been held in a Georgia immigration detention center for nearly six months despite having two active applications for legal status. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took Calderón into custody in late February following a traffic stop in Florida.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that Calderón was authorized to stay in the United States until September 5, 2025, but remained in the country in violation of federal law. At the time of his arrest, Calderón had two pending cases with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): an extension for his tourist visa filed on August 25, 2025, and an EB-1A visa application, which is reserved for individuals with extraordinary abilities in fields such as athletics.
Calderón’s detention occurred amid a reported shift in enforcement priorities under the Trump administration. Adriel Orozco, senior policy counsel with the American Immigration Council, stated that individuals with pending applications were previously not considered priorities for detention, but now any immigrant may be detained regardless of their case status. The backlog of pending cases at USCIS currently stands at 11.3 million.
The scale of this issue involves 11.3 million pending petitions, a figure that persists even as USCIS has received fewer new applications. The American Immigration Council found that the agency processed approximately 41% fewer cases at the start of the 2025 fiscal year compared to previous periods. For a person in Calderón's position, this translates to months of detention without a clear timeline for release. His family, which includes two U.S. citizen children ages 1 and 3, faces the loss of a household provider and parent. The delay in government processing effectively extends the time an individual spends in detention facilities, such as the one in Folkston, Georgia, where Calderón is currently held.
The long-term impact involves a potential shift in how federal resources are allocated. Advocates like Orozco argue that detaining individuals who may eventually be approved for legal status is a waste of government resources. Furthermore, Shev Dalal-Dheini of the American Immigration Lawyers Association suggested the slow processing times may be intentional to facilitate meeting detention quotas. DHS has confirmed that Calderón will remain in ICE custody until his immigration proceedings are completed. No specific date has been set for a final ruling on his visa or residency applications, meaning he faces continued detention for an indefinite period.