Venezuelan Soccer Pro’s ICE Detention Exposes Backlog

Homero Calderón, a 32-year-old Venezuelan professional soccer player who has competed across three continents, has spent nearly six months inside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Folkston, Georgia — despite having two immigration applications pending with U.S. authorities. His case, detailed in an extensive NPR investigation, has become a powerful illustration of how the nation’s overwhelmed immigration system is ensnaring individuals who followed the legal process.

Calderón, a father of two U.S. citizens ages 1 and 3, was pulled over for speeding in Marion County, Florida in late February and arrested for driving without a valid Florida license. His wife, Daniela Molina, maintains he held a valid international driving permit. He was transferred to ICE custody and has remained detained ever since, missing his daughter’s first birthday in the process.

A Career Built on Three Continents

Before his detention, Calderón built a professional soccer career spanning Venezuela, Cyprus, Portugal, Italy, and the United States. According to his Wikipedia profile, he began with Atlético Venezuela in 2012 and went on to play for clubs including Doxa Katokopias in Cyprus, Vizela in Portugal, and A.S.D. Arboris Belli 1979 in Italy. Most recently, he played for Brave SC in the USL League Two as a volunteer. His wife noted that he has residency in Portugal, a visa for China, and speaks three languages.

“He played on three continents, in international cups and was a volunteer for two seasons in the USL League Two,” Molina said in an Instagram post reported by El Nacional. “He entered legally and was legal, showed his documents and they still detained him. It’s not fair, his story cannot remain in silence.”

Two Pending Cases, One Detention

At the time of his arrest, Calderón had two active immigration applications: an extension of his tourist visa filed on August 25, 2025, and an EB-1A visa petition for individuals with extraordinary ability in fields including athletics — a category that can lead to a green card. The Department of Homeland Security told NPR that Calderón had permission to stay only until September 5, 2025, and that “he overstayed his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws.”

But immigration advocates argue his case reveals a deeper problem: the system’s inability to process applications in a timely manner, leaving applicants vulnerable to enforcement actions while their paperwork sits in limbo.

“His case is symbolic of so many other individuals who are stuck in processing backlogs at USCIS — individuals doing the right thing by filing their applications timely,” said Shev Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “But it’s taking many, many, many months, if not in certain instances years, to have a case processed.”

The USCIS Backlog: 11.3 Million Cases and Growing

The backlog at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) now stands at a staggering 11.3 million pending cases, according to data from the American Immigration Council. That represents an increase of more than 1.6 million cases since 2025. The Economic Times reports that USCIS processed about 41% fewer cases at the beginning of the 2025 fiscal year, even as it received fewer petitions overall.

Average backlog clearance time has nearly doubled from 9.4 months to 18.6 months, while the overall denial rate has climbed from 8.9% to 12.2%. For EB-1A Extraordinary Ability petitions — the exact category Calderón applied under — the denial rate has more than doubled from 25.3% to 52.5%.

“As the government takes longer to process applications, that means people are vulnerable to being arrested by ICE because they don’t have a set status approved by the federal government,” said Adriel Orozco, senior policy counsel at the American Immigration Council.

A Shift in Enforcement Policy

Historically, immigrants with pending USCIS applications or immigration court cases were not priorities for detention. Under the Trump administration, that policy has shifted dramatically. ICE reported at least 43,000 arrests in June 2026 and 46,000 detentions in July 2026 — a record monthly high for the second Trump administration, according to CBS News data cited by El Nacional.

“It’s an easy way for the government to meet their quota to detain and deport individuals when they know who individuals are because they’ve done the right thing and applied for something,” Dalal-Dheini said.

The immigration court system is equally strained. The backlog exceeds 3.4 million cases as of June 2026, according to the Executive Office for Immigration Review. A USA Today investigation found the administration has turned to “mega master” hearings — packing 50 to 100 or more cases into single proceedings — to push through the backlog. Over 1,300 such hearings were held in June alone, a nearly threefold jump from the same period in 2025. Critics say the mass hearings slash due process, and 58% of the 10,370 people assigned to hearings in June were ruled absent, leading to deportation orders.

The Folkston Detention Center: A Troubled Facility

Calderón is being held at the Folkston ICE Processing Center, operated by The GEO Group, a private prison company, under contract with ICE and Charlton County, Georgia. In June 2025, GEO received a $47 million contract to expand the facility to nearly 3,000 beds, making it the largest immigrant detention center in the U.S., according to The Current GA.

The facility has a documented history of violations, including medical neglect, unsanitary conditions, and the death of a detainee — Jaspal Singh, who died in April 2024 when a doctor delayed treatment. ICE inspectors recorded 38 violations in 2019, and a 2021 DHS inspector general report found numerous abuses that compromised the health, safety, and rights of detainees.

A Family’s Plea for Answers

Calderón’s brother, Ramón, a U.S. citizen, told NPR the family has followed every legal step.

“He followed every single step of the process legally to obtain the legal status,” Ramón Calderón said. “We’ve done everything under the legality of what the immigration laws are. So it’s very, very hard and very difficult for our family to see him go through this nightmare.”

NPR found no evidence of any past or pending criminal cases against Calderón. His family says he has never committed a crime in the U.S. or anywhere else in the world.

DHS stated Calderón will remain in ICE custody “pending the outcome of his immigration proceedings.” His brother hopes for resolution soon.

“We thought his case was strong, that we will get him out on bail and then follow his process and everything was going to be good there, but it’s been six months,” Ramón Calderón said. “We just need his process to have an answer, a final answer on his visa and his residency case. Whatever that result is going to be, we will accept.”

What to Watch For

Calderón’s case raises fundamental questions about the intersection of immigration enforcement and administrative processing. As the USCIS backlog continues to grow and enforcement operations expand, more individuals with pending applications may find themselves in similar situations. The outcome of his EB-1A petition and visa extension — and whether the courts or ICE provide any relief — could set a precedent for how the administration handles cases where immigrants have followed the legal process but been caught in systemic delays.

For now, Calderón remains in detention, his family waiting for answers while the broader immigration system struggles under the weight of millions of pending cases.