ICE agents detained two Argentine circus performers, Agustin Baccega and Gustavo Romanello, at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Both have pending asylum cases and work permits.
According to reports by the Arizona Mirror and KJZZ, the men flew in from Florida last weekend. After they got off the plane in Terminal 3, two ICE officers in plain clothes approached them. A friend of the couple, Jonathan Batchelor, said the agents did not explain why they were being detained.
Baccega and Romanello are married. They previously lived in Arizona and were instructors at the Arizona Circus Center in Tempe. A few years ago they moved to Florida, where they performed in Orlando theme parks. They flew to Phoenix for a memorial service for a late friend from the circus community.
Batchelor said both men came to the U.S. on visas and filed asylum applications, which are still being processed. They have valid work permits and no criminal record. According to a friend of the couple, their documents remain valid through 2029.
ICE spokesman for Arizona Fernando Burgos-Ortiz said a work permit does not confer immigration status and does not protect against arrest or deportation proceedings. According to an ICE spokesperson quoted by the Orlando Sentinel, the men’s visas expired in 2021. Both will remain in custody pending removal proceedings. ICE did not respond to questions about why people with pending asylum applications were detained.
The Arizona Mirror writes that ICE arrests at the airport are becoming more frequent. Data through July, the most recent available, show that ICE detained 21 people at Sky Harbor in 2026. The law firm Ybarra Maldonado Law Group called on Phoenix and state officials to publicly oppose such actions and to demand the couple’s release.
Source: Arizona Mirror
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