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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u2019s detainee database.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mat\u00edas Alejandro Pourrain, a 34-year-old Argentine soccer player who is currently in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Florida. Instagram\/matipourrain<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Miami United spokesperson told the Miami Herald<\/a> that three individuals approached Pourrain after he had cleared security.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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, \u201cin violation of our nation\u2019s laws.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPourrain will remain in ICE custody pending his removal proceedings and will receive full due process,\u201d the statement said, while also calling being in detention \u201ca choice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n 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\u2019s allegations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol Terminal C at LaGuardia Airport on March 24, 2026 Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cHe 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,\u201d the club wrote in a social media post<\/a>. \u201cDuring all these years, Mat\u00edas has worked, paid his taxes, maintained his documentation, and built a life and a community here.\u201d<\/p>\n Miami United said in a statement<\/a> that the club was \u201cdeeply shocked\u201d by Pourrain\u2019s detention and that the club has been supporting its player and his family, while also providing legal support for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are cooperating with all parties involved and doing everything within our ability to help resolve this situation in the best possible way,\u201d the club\u2019s statement read. \u201cMatias 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Mat\u00edas Alejandro Pourrain in action. Instagram\/matipourrain<\/p>\n Pourrain\u2019s attorney, Regina de Moraes, told the Miami New Times<\/a> that she filed a motion for bond and requested a hearing date.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pourrain also coaches youth players in Miami United\u2019s academy.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t