Add The New York Post on Google A semi-pro soccer player was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while traveling with his team to a match in Los Angeles and is now being held in a detention center in Florida.
Matias Alejandro Pourrain, 34, was traveling with his teammates on Miami United, a club in the United Premier Soccer League, to a playoff match in Los Angeles when he was arrested by ICE agents at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Aug. 6.
Pourrain, a native of Argentina, had cleared TSA when he was flagged, questioned and then arrested by federal agents. He is currently being held in Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s detainee database.
DHS has said the footballer overstayed a temporary six-month visa he entered the United States on in 2019. Both his current team and his former team, Club de Lyon, have pushed back against what DHS has said.
A Miami United spokesperson told the Miami Herald that three individuals approached Pourrain after he had cleared security.
In a statement released to several media outlets, DHS said Pourrain had entered the country through the Atlanta Intercontinental Airport legally on Nov. 12, 2019, but stayed past May 11, 2020, “in violation of our nation’s laws.”
“Pourrain will remain in ICE custody pending his removal proceedings and will receive full due process,” the statement said, while also calling being in detention “a choice.”
Club de Lyon, which Pourrain played for before joining Miami United this year, has posted several statements on social media, including one directly challenging ICE’s allegations.
“He originally entered the United States legally with a visa. He has had a pending asylum case for years, a valid work permit, a Florida ID, and no criminal record,” the club wrote in a social media post. “During all these years, Matías has worked, paid his taxes, maintained his documentation, and built a life and a community here.”
Miami United said in a statement that the club was “deeply shocked” by Pourrain’s detention and that the club has been supporting its player and his family, while also providing legal support for him.
“We are cooperating with all parties involved and doing everything within our ability to help resolve this situation in the best possible way,” the club’s statement read. “Matias is not only an exceptional footballer, but an even better person and an important part of the Miami United family. His teammates, coaches, staff and the entire club stand firmly behind him and his family.”
Pourrain’s attorney, Regina de Moraes, told the Miami New Times that she filed a motion for bond and requested a hearing date.
Pourrain also coaches youth players in Miami United’s academy.
