Disabled Delaware Immigrant Kidnapped and Detained by ICE

ICE kidnapped Victor Acurio Suárez, a developmentally disabled immigrant, with the help of local law enforcement.

On September 22, 2025, Victor Acurio Suárez, an Ecuadorian immigrant seeking protection via asylum through the legal, documented process, was kidnapped and detained by ICE with the assistance of the Seaford Police Department in southern Delaware.

Here’s what’s especially cruel about this situation: Victor is Autistic and has aphasia—disabilities that require him to have the support and supervision of an in-home caregiver; he is unable to live independently.

Victor’s brother, Lenin, is that caregiver, and has been since the two brothers fled Ecuador back in 2021 to escape from gang violence that directly and physically threatened their lives on more than one occasion.

Reports say that Victor was outside at a Lowe’s in Seaford, Delaware, flagging down potential customers for work. His brother, Lenin, has said that Victor can perform low-complexity work, but only so long as someone is nearby to guide and assist him.

Coincidentally and unfortunately, he caught the attention of an ICE agent who happened to be in the parking lot at the time.

The ICE agent reportedly pulled his vehicle closer to Victor to observe him as another agent arrived to “assist”, and soon after, attempted to apprehend him. Victor fled on foot and sought shelter beneath a nearby trailer.

The agent was unable to retrieve Victor on his own, so he called on the Seaford Police Department for reinforcement. Victor has been in detention at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center (operated by the multi-billion dollar for-profit concentration camp and prison management company, GEO Group) in Pennsylvania ever since.

The Philly Enquirer reports:

Acurio Suárez has long been cared for by his brother, Lenin Acurio Suárez, who said in an interview last month that Victor Acurio Suárez did not realize he was in immigration custody when he was taken to the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania. He thought he was on vacation, provided with three free meals a day and allowed to buy snacks and kick a soccer ball.

Fucking sick, right?

Here’s where Delaware’s house bill HB182 comes into play, but also gets murky: it’s supposed to prohibit contracts between ICE and local law enforcement; however, what’s to stop local police departments from assisting federal agencies without an agreement?

States that have passed these laws need to be more explicit: law enforcement must be prohibited from cooperating with federal immigration agencies altogether, not just through formal contracts.

Victor’s asylum claim is still valid, but even though he has no criminal record and has been going about the asylum-seeking process the proper, legal way, immigration Judge Dennis Ryan ordered him to “voluntarily” self-deport back to Ecuador, which would put him straight back into harm’s way.

And choosing not to self-deport is also murky, as the court could (and likely would) then issue an actual order of deportation.

It’s a lose-lose situation.

Delaware’s Governor, Matt Meyer, has been an outspoken critic of the Trump regime and is calling for Victor’s immediate release, but further legislation is still needed to close the loophole that allows local agencies to assist ICE with unlawful kidnappings and detentions throughout the country.

Victor’s attorney, Kaley Miller-Schaeffer, appealed the decision as Victor and Lenin await a response from the Board of Immigration Appeals.