A Hollywood, Florida woman living with a rare brain vascular condition is pleading for federal immigration authorities to release her husband, who she says has cared for her for years and was seized by ICE agents right outside their home. Fernando Acuña was arrested on August 13 after dropping off his younger son at soccer practice, according to his son, who said agents ambushed his father. Acuña has no criminal record and no deportation order, but he remains held while his immigration case is pending.
The woman, who asked not to be identified out of fear of being targeted, has experienced multiple strokes and surgeries tied to her condition, according to Local 10 News. Doctors have advised her to avoid stress, a warning that carries added medical weight given how her illness works. Brain arteriovenous malformations, or AVMs, are rare congenital vascular tangles. They account for about 2% of hemorrhagic strokes and can rupture, causing permanent brain damage or fatal hemorrhage, according to StatPearls. AVMs affect less than 1% of the population, the outlet's reporting notes.
A GoFundMe post from the couple's son offered additional details about the family's situation. The family says Acuña remains detained while his immigration case proceeds. The available reporting does not specify the sequence of facilities involved in his detention. The Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach is a privately operated 600-bed facility run by The GEO Group under an ICE contract specifically meant to house non-criminal and low-security detainees, per reporting from public radio station WLRN.
A Family Uprooted, a Career Left Behind in 2001
Fernando Acuña left his soccer career in Ecuador in 2001 to bring his wife to South Florida for treatment unavailable in their home country, the family said. The couple entered the United States on a medical visa, which later expired after their arrival, and Acuña has since worked two jobs for more than 15 years while caring for his wife. The family said her surgeries and ongoing treatment simply would not have been available in Ecuador.
In 2023, the family petitioned for deferred action, a request that per the original reporting remains pending. That request now runs into a tighter federal posture. In May 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued Policy Alert PA-2026-01, redefining deferred action as an “extraordinary use of prosecutorial discretion” to be evaluated strictly on an individualized, case-by-case basis rather than extended for broader humanitarian categories, according to USCIS. The family says Acuña remains detained while his case proceeds.
A Cross-Country Transfer Common in Today's Immigration System
Long-distance transfers of detained immigrants have been reported across the country. Investigative reporting has documented frequent transfers across state lines and their effect on families and legal defenses, as detailed by The Baltimore Banner. Those transfers out of South Florida come amid severe strain on the region's own detention capacity. A Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General report detailed Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami experiencing severe overcrowding and holding-time violations, with detainee populations exceeding capacity by up to 58%, Hoodline previously reported.
Acuña's son said he wants his father to be able to fight his immigration case from home rather than from a facility more than a thousand miles away. His mother, in her plea, said she wants to stand up for her husband and is asking for mercy so he can return while the case continues. The family is fighting for his release, and hopes he can come home while the legal process plays out.
Part of a Broader Pattern Across South Florida
Acuña's case comes amid broader concerns about immigration detention across South Florida. The region's detention system includes local processing centers and facilities used for transfers.
For now, the Acuña family says Local 10 News reached out to the State Department regarding his visa petition but has not received a response. The status of the couple's 2023 deferred-action request remains unclear, and it is not known whether Acuña's legal team has filed for a bond redetermination or a stay of removal now that he is being held in Texas. What is clear, according to his family, is that the man who left his soccer career behind twenty-five years ago to keep his wife alive is now the one waiting on a decision that could keep them apart.
