Family members, former teammates, and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz gathered outside the Broward Transitional Center on July 30, 2026, demanding the release of Claudia Carolina Rodriguez Caglianone, a Venezuelan immigrant and former college soccer captain detained by federal immigration authorities.The 28-year-old former St. Thomas University soccer captain was taken into custody earlier this month by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents while attempting to board a flight at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, according to her family.Rodriguez arrived in the United States from Venezuela in 2017 and filed for asylum within six months. Her asylum case remains pending in immigration court nine years later, though she temporarily received Temporary Protected Status in 2023 before those protections lapsed for most Venezuelan holders last October. Following her airport arrest, Rodriguez spent eight days at an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations facility in Miramar, where her family reported she slept on a unpadded floor, went without showers, and lost 15 pounds before her transfer to the Pompano Beach location.Speaking outside the facility, Rodriguez's cousin Gabriel Dominguez reflected on the emotional impact the detention has had on their family, particularly during a recent family gathering."When the game was happening, the entire family got together and we were just crying, because usually we’d get together to watch it with her," said Gabe Dominguez, Rodriguez's cousin. The St. Thomas University graduate earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees while leading the university's soccer team as captain."She's just a great leader. She's always with the team. She's got a great personality.She motivates people. She was actually injured her last season and wasn't able to play, but she was still there to support her team and push us to be the best we can be," said Michelle Smith, her former coach at St. Thomas University. Her cousin noted the distress the detention has caused to their family members who fled Venezuela together."It's heartbreaking... Seeing my grandmother, who's 94 years old, who also had to come over from Venezuela, and seeing her reaction to this thing and seeing her inability to process and understand why somebody like her granddaughter, who's done so much for her family, for her community, for all these different people, it makes no sense," said Dominguez.During a surprise inspection attempt at the Broward Transitional Center, ICE officials prevented Wasserman Schultz from visiting Rodriguez in person, citing a requirement for 24-hour advance notice, though she was permitted to speak with her over the phone. "That's all that's required for members of Congress to be able to communicate with constituents," Wasserman Schultz said. "ICE is violating federal law."Although Wasserman Schultz observed clean conditions and functional recreational areas inside the low-level offender facility, she maintained that non-violent detainees should not be held under federal custody."I was pleasantly surprised that this transition facility has the cleanliness that one would hope for. It had room in the sleeping quarters. It had recreational facilities that were real, not just a tent over over a piece of concrete. It had access to a library," Wasserman Schultz said. The congresswoman emphasized that the majority of individuals held inside the private facility carry no serious criminal records."The detainees that are housed here have either no criminal history or very low-level history, like traffic stops and things that do not involve significant criminal activity," she said. "There are 671 people in this facility that shouldn't be here, that should not have been detained in the first place, and that the policy of the Trump administration that is putting them here is unacceptable."Addressing the broader public perception of individuals held in federal custody, Dominguez pushed back against the administration's immigration enforcement narrative. "We hear these words like ‘detainee’ and people picture somebody that they should be afraid of," he told WLRN. "The reality is much more complicated than the narrative that's painted. A lot of these people that are being detained unlawfully are people that are a pillar of the community, and that's what you're seeing here today."Dominguez further challenged the public perception surrounding immigrant detentions under federal policies."When people hear about detainees, the picture that comes to mind is somebody that they’ve been told to fear," said her cousin, Gabriel Dominguez. "When I think of that, I think of a young woman who spent the majority of her life trying to do the right thing."He reiterated that family and friends intend to remain vocal until Rodriguez is freed from ICE custody."So here we are, standing together and doing the very thing for her that she’s done for so many of us — to show up," Dominguez said.He described Rodriguez's character as a direct counterpoint to political talking points on immigration."living proof that the reality is much more complicated than any narrative that could be painted."Dominguez concluded by promising continued public demonstrations outside the detention facility."We’ll continue to show up until we bring her home," Dominguez said.ICE officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding Rodriguez's ongoing detention.