ICE detained Alicia Labrador on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, as she dropped her 16-year-old daughter at a friend’s home in Doral’s Ibis Villas neighborhood. Her family says she had a Valid Work Permit and a Pending Asylum case. She remained in custody.
Relatives and associates said Labrador entered the United States legally on a visa in 2016. They also said she had a current driver’s license and no criminal record. Accounts said authorities later transferred her to a detention facility in Texas.
The reports differ over which agency made the arrest. Several identified ICE, while another account named Border Patrol/CBP. That distinction remains unresolved in the public accounts.
Ros Ana Guillén, Labrador’s immigration attorney, said she was unable to visit her client at a CBP facility in Dania Beach. Guillén said she was told the site held people in transit rather than serving as a detention center.
“En estos momentos está en un centro de CBP en Dania Beach. Pero me informaron que por no ser un centro de detención como tal, sino un centro donde mantienen a los detenidos mientras están en tránsito, no me dejaron verla.”
The arresting agency and transfer accounts do not fully align
Local television coverage placed Labrador first at a CBP facility in Dania Beach. Other accounts said she was transferred to Texas later the same day. The public descriptions do not establish a single, consistent sequence of agency custody.
Guillén also said Labrador’s Temporary Protected Status had expired, while her work authorization remained active and her asylum case was pending. In a separate statement, the attorney described Labrador as someone valued in the community. Her relatives and associates likewise said she had no criminal record.
As of October 4, 2026, authorities had not publicly stated the specific legal basis for holding her. Labrador remained in immigration custody and was facing deportation proceedings. Her family and counsel were seeking her release and challenging the detention.
Labrador’s business and Doral ties drew community attention
Labrador founded and led Aliestetic, a South Florida aesthetics and MedSpa chain. Reports also described her as a Venezuelan entrepreneur and dermocosmetologist, and as vice president of the Cámara de Comercio de Mujeres Hispanas de Doral.
The arrest took place in a city often called “Doralzuela,” a reference to its large Venezuelan community. One account, citing Census data, put Doral’s population at 81,634 and said four in ten residents were of Venezuelan origin. The city is also described as home to one of the largest Venezuelan communities in the United States.
The case drew attention because a pending asylum application and work authorization did not prevent Labrador’s detention in this instance. Her company thanked supporters for “el apoyo, el cariño y las oraciones” and said its clinic “continúa abierta.”
One report cited ICE arrest data showing 49,571 arrests nationwide in July 2026, described in that account as the highest single-month total of the second Trump term. The figure provides a wider enforcement backdrop, but does not explain Labrador’s individual detention.
Her relatives and counsel are challenging the detention as deportation proceedings continue.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
