Cleary University Soccer Player from Venezuela Detained by ICE in Lincoln Park
A Venezuelan soccer player who graduated with honors and earned her associate’s degree was detained by federal immigration agents in Wayne County.
LINCOLN PARK, MICHIGAN — A 20-year-old Venezuelan student-athlete at Cleary University was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Tuesday in Lincoln Park, according to reporting from the Detroit Metro Times.
Karliana Yosdeylin Perdomo-Gotopo, a member of the university’s women’s soccer team, was apprehended in Wayne County and is currently being held at the North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan, according to ICE records.
Perdomo-Gotopo entered the United States as an unaccompanied minor at age 16, her mother told the Detroit Metro Times. She moved to Michigan as a high school student in 2022 and graduated with honors from Western International High School in Detroit in 2023.
Academic and Athletic Achievement
After completing her associate’s degree at St. Clair County Community College, Perdomo-Gotopo transferred to Cleary University in Howell, where she joined the women’s soccer program. The university is located about 60 miles northwest of Detroit.
“She is not a criminal,” Perdomo-Gotopo’s mother told the Metro Times. “She is a young Venezuelan who has fought every day to get ahead.”
University Response
Cleary University President Alan Drimmer confirmed the university was aware of the detention and expressed concern for the student’s welfare. “We are deeply concerned for her well-being and the well-being of her family during this difficult time,” Drimmer said. “Karliana is a valued member of our campus community and our women’s soccer program.”
Drimmer said the university was gathering additional information about the situation and monitoring developments closely. He noted that the university’s ability to comment publicly was limited due to the ongoing legal and immigration proceedings.
Detention Facility
The North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, where Perdomo-Gotopo is currently detained, is located in Lake County in west-central Michigan. The facility serves as a processing center for immigration cases in the region.
The detention occurred amid ongoing federal immigration enforcement activities across Michigan and other states. ICE has not released additional details about the circumstances surrounding Perdomo-Gotopo’s arrest.
Perdomo-Gotopo’s case highlights the situation facing some student-athletes and other young immigrants who arrived in the United States as minors and have built lives in American communities through education and extracurricular activities.
