ICE detains two Argentine acrobats at Phoenix airport
Baccega and Romanello, a married couple who had performed with Arizona Circus Center and later moved to Florida, were returning to Phoenix to pay tribute to another circus performer when immigration officers arrested them at Sky Harbor on November 7. Their friend Jonathan Batchelor said he was speaking with them by phone as agents approached in plain clothes and took Baccega into custody. Romanello was arrested after following the officers to ask about his husband.
Batchelor said the couple have pending asylum cases and work permits. Friends also said they have no criminal records. The couple are now held at the Florence ICE detention center; friends have spoken with them by phone but, as of November 11, had not been able to visit in person.
ICE said both men entered the United States legally in 2020 and overstayed their authorized periods of stay, which ended in 2021. The agency described the arrests as a targeted enforcement action and said the men would remain in custody during removal proceedings. It said work authorization does not give someone immigration status or prevent an arrest. ICE did not address questions about the couple’s pending asylum claims.
The lawyers representing Baccega and Romanello called for their immediate release, saying they were detained while visiting Arizona for a funeral. Batchelor said the men believed they were following the rules while their cases were pending. The arrests have prompted concern among friends and members of the Phoenix community.
ICE arrests acrobats despite pending asylum cases
Two Argentine acrobats returning to Arizona to mourn another circus performer were taken into ICE custody at Phoenix Sky Harbor on November 7. Agustin Baccega and Gustavo Romanello, a married couple who have worked as performers, are being held at the Florence ICE detention center.
Their friend Jonathan Batchelor said he was on the phone as plainclothes agents arrested Baccega and then Romanello. Friends say the couple have pending asylum cases, valid work permits and no criminal records. Their lawyers say the men were handling their immigration cases through regular legal channels and have called for their immediate release.
ICE says the two overstayed visas that expired in 2021 and will remain in custody during removal proceedings. The agency also says work authorization does not confer immigration status. But it did not address questions about the couple’s pending asylum applications, leaving friends concerned that people pursuing legal protection can still be detained while their cases await a decision.
The couple’s lawyers say the arrests turned a trip to attend a funeral into an immigration detention. Batchelor said the men were not trying to evade the law and believed they were following its rules. The case has alarmed friends and members of the Phoenix community.
ICE enforces visa rules after acrobats overstayed
ICE arrested Agustin Baccega and Gustavo Romanello at Phoenix Sky Harbor on November 7, saying both Argentine nationals remained in the United States after their authorized stays expired. The agency said the men entered legally in 2020, overstayed visas that expired in 2021 and will remain in custody during removal proceedings.
The arrests came as the married couple returned to Phoenix to pay tribute to another circus performer. Their friend Jonathan Batchelor said he was on the phone when agents approached and arrested first Baccega, then Romanello. The two are being held at ICE's Florence detention facility.
Friends and the couple’s lawyers say they have pending asylum claims and work permits. ICE says employment authorization does not itself grant immigration status or prevent enforcement. That distinction is central to the agency’s explanation: permission to work does not erase an expired period of admission.
The lawyers have demanded the men’s release, while Batchelor says they believed they were following the rules. ICE described the arrests as a targeted enforcement action. Its statement says the couple will remain in custody as their removal proceedings continue.
Reported by KJZZ, AZFamily, FOX 10 Phoenix.
