Sarah McBride demands Trump administration release severely disabled Delaware resident from ICE custody

U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride, Delaware’s at-large Democrat, on Monday demanded that federal immigration authorities immediately release Victor Acurio Suárez, a Sussex County resident with disability who was ordered deported last week.

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McBride’s call came days after an immigration judge ordered Acurio Suárez to return to Ecuador, despite warnings from advocates and state officials that deportation would place him in grave danger.

“The detainment and now the order to deport Victor Acurio Suárez is morally bankrupt,” McBride said in a statement released Monday. “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.”

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Acurio Suárez lives with significant developmental disabilities and aphasia, a condition that affects a person’s ability to communicate, and he relies on his family for daily care. According to his attorneys and advocates, he fled Ecuador after being brutally beaten by members of the Los Lobos gang, who burned his home and left him for dead. He later applied for asylum in the United States.

“He has no criminal history and followed the law by applying for asylum upon arriving in our country,” McBride said. “He is the exact kind of individual that our asylum system is meant to protect.”

Spotlight Delaware reported that Acurio Suárez was detained in September 2025 and has been held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania while his case proceeded. Last week, Immigration Judge Dennis Ryan ordered him to voluntarily depart the United States. If he does not comply, the order would become a formal removal, potentially triggering long-term reentry bars.

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McBride, the first out transgender member of Congress, is not the only Democratic Delaware official to intervene. In December, Gov. Matt Meyer personally wrote to Ryan, urging Acurio Suárez’s immediate release, describing him as exceptionally vulnerable and warning that deportation would expose him to re-victimization and severe harm.

“I am deeply concerned that deportation would place Mr. Acurio Suarez at grave risk on a multitude of levels,” he wrote.

Meyer emphasized that Acurio Suárez has no criminal or traffic record, has complied with immigration requirements, and depends entirely on family members in Delaware for care.

McBride echoed those concerns Monday, placing blame squarely on President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

“The Trump Administration has stripped our immigration system of dignity and due process—foundations on which a just system relies,” she said. “These are not privileges, they are obligations, and they exist to protect us all from the treatment Mr. Acurio Suárez is facing now.”

Acurio Suárez intends to appeal the judge’s decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals. McBride’s office said it has been working with his attorney since his detention in October 2025 and will continue pressing immigration officials to reverse course.