Miami United midfielder recounts a harrowing immigration detention

Matías Pourrain, an Argentine-born U.S. resident and semi-professional soccer player, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Aug. 6 while traveling with his Miami United teammates to a national semifinal in Los Angeles.

Pourrain said two men in civilian clothing approached him after he had cleared TSA screening and asked for identification. The men later revealed ICE badges and told him they needed to check information connected to his pending immigration case. He said he was initially told the process would take about 10 minutes.

Instead, Pourrain said additional officers arrived, informed him he was under arrest and took him away in handcuffs. He said he was not told clearly why he was being detained. The Department of Homeland Security later stated that Pourrain had entered the United States legally on a tourist visa in November 2019 but remained after his authorized stay expired in May 2020.

“At no point did they explain anything to me,” Pourrain said. “They just said it had to do with my pending case.”

‘The worst thing that’s ever happened to me’

Pourrain was first taken to a processing center in Miramar, Florida, where he said he was held in a cramped room with nearly 70 other men. He described being shackled to a chair for the first 24 hours, going nearly three days without eating and struggling to drink from a water fountain located near the toilets.

He also alleged that some of the food was moldy and that detainees were forced to sleep close to bathroom facilities. “It was inhumane,” he said. “Miramar was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me in my life.”

After several days, Pourrain was transferred through other facilities, including Krome North Service Processing Center and Glades Correctional Facility. He was eventually transported by van and plane to the Rio Grande detention facility near Laredo, Texas, without his family or attorney initially knowing his location.

His attorney, Regina Borges de Moraes, said Pourrain’s case involved an alleged visa overstay and that he was entitled to appear before an immigration judge. She said similar detentions had become more common and that people in comparable situations had previously often been released while their removal proceedings continued.

Borges de Moraes also represented Neisser Sandó, a Cuban national team midfielder detained on a similar visa charge while pursuing permanent status under the Cuban Adjustment Act.

Released after $20,000 bond

Pourrain was released from the Rio Grande facility on Aug. 28 after his family paid a $20,000 bond. During his detention, news of his case spread in Argentina and the United States, drawing support from the soccer community and from people connected to the academy where he coaches in Key Biscayne.

“Soccer helped me outside as well, in that this went viral,” Pourrain said. “So many people supported me and thank God I got to leave.”

The Department of Homeland Security disputed his account of the conditions, saying ICE detainees receive meals, clean water, bedding, showers, toiletries and access to telephones. Pourrain, however, said the experience left him traumatized.

“It was torture,” he said. “Mentally, it was pure terror.”

Pourrain said he intends to continue pursuing his immigration case legally. Despite the ordeal, he said he still loves the United States and was overwhelmed by the support he received from his wife, his soccer community and American citizens.