UPDATE: DE Leaders Speak Out as Developmentally Disabled Man faces Deportation
UPDATE: A federal judge has ordered a developmentally disabled man to return to his home country of Ecuador, despite outcries from state leaders.
On Tuesday, Jan. 20, an immigration judge handed down an order of voluntary departure to 52-year-old Victor Acurio Suarez. Suarez was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Sept. 2025 after unintentionally waiving down an agent.
“The detainment and now the order to deport Victor Acurio Suárez is morally bankrupt. It shows a complete lack of care, compassion, and basic humanity toward a vulnerable neighbor who has done everything the law asked of him and poses no threat to anyone,” said U.S. Representative Sarah McBride. “He has no criminal history and followed the law by applying for asylum upon arriving in our country. He is the exact kind of individual that our asylum system is meant to protect.”
McBride detailed some of the attacks lodged against Acurio Suárez, saying he fled after being brutally beaten at the hands of the Los Lobos gang. Members reportedly ‘left him for dead’ after setting his house on fire.
“Forcing him back to a country where he was brutally attacked and left for dead is wrong. It’s also a stark warning about what happens when our systems abandon empathy altogether,” McBride continued. “I am calling on immigration authorities to immediately release Mr. Acurio Suárez and grant him asylum.”
McBride’s office has been working with Acurio Suárez’s lawyer since Oct. 2025. His legal team intends to pursue an appeal to this decision.
SEAFORD, Del. – Governor Matt Meyer has issued a post on social media calling for the immediate release of a developmentally disabled man currently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.
On Wednesday evening, the governor of Delaware wrote on multiple platforms about Victor Acurio Suarez, a Seaford resident and asylum seeker. Governor Meyer says Suarez was taken into custody after unknowingly approaching ICE agents while looking for work. He now reportedly faces deportation.
“Victor Acurio Suarez poses no threat to public safety. He has no criminal history and relies on his family for daily care,” Governor Meyer wrote on Facebook. “Delaware believes in upholding public safety and ensuring that our systems are not inflicting harm on individuals who pose no threat and are uniquely vulnerable. Detaining someone in his condition, despite full compliance with the law and a pending asylum claim, serves no legitimate public safety purpose and inflicts real harm on an exceptionally vulnerable person.”
In response to Suarez’s detainment, Governor Meyer says he has personally written to the judge overseeing his case. He maintains that deporting Suarez would separate him from his caretaker, returning him to a country he fled after brutal gang violence.
“Our immigration system must be guided by compassion, proportionality, and sound judgment–not by indiscriminate enforcement or for the sake of fulfilling quotas,” Governor Meyer concluded. “Delaware will continue to speak out when federal actions cross the line from enforcement into cruelty, and I will continue to advocate for the dignity and safety of every Delaware resident.”
This article was originally published on Dec. 18, 2025 at 11:11 a.m.
