Two beloved Universal Epic Universe performers arrested by ICE in Phoenix

Cristóbal Reyes, Orlando Sentinel on Nov 11, 2026

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Agustin Baccega and Gustavo Romanello flew to Arizona from Orlando, Florida, on Saturday to attend the funeral of a friend who died a day earlier.

But when they arrived at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Baccega was immediately grabbed by plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Their friend, Jonathan Batchelor, was on the phone with Romanello as he demanded answers. Romanello was then taken, too.

“They started asking him questions, and then one of them said, ‘Do you have another pair of cuffs? There’s another one,'” said Batchelor, a longtime friend of the couple.

They are now in detention in Arizona pending possible deportation.

Baccega and Romanello, who are married, moved to the United States from Argentina in 2020. According to their friends, they petitioned for asylum and have up-to-date work permits.

They had since built a life — first in Arizona and later Orlando — as acrobatic performers, eventually working at Universal’s “The Untrainable Dragon” live show at Epic Universe.

Baccega also works for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and as a performer at the Pirates Dinner Adventure dinner show in Kissimmee. A GOAA spokesperson who confirmed his employment there said they are in touch with his attorneys as they learn more about what happened.

Romanello, a recent Full Sail University graduate with a degree in animation, has been a contracted stunt performer for Universal since 2025 and is an aspiring animator for movies. Universal Orlando did not reply to a message seeking comment.

Their Instagram accounts show photos of the two in full Viking regalia for the “Dragon” show, including images of some of the acrobatic maneuvers they performed, as well as a photo of Baccega as a roller-skating zombie at last year’s Universal Halloween Horror Nights event.

Before moving to Florida, the couple worked at the Arizona Circus Center, where they made names for themselves in Phoenix’s circus community as talented trainers and performers. Neither has a criminal history.

“They’re some of the people that make the theme parks so magical. It’s not something anyone can just do,” Batchelor said. “This is absolutely devastating to the community both in Phoenix and Orlando. We just love them so much, and they were doing everything right. They were following the rules as we’ve laid them down.”

The pair have since been locked up in separate facilities in Arizona. ICE’s detainee locator places Baccega at Eloy Detention Center while Romanello is at Florence Service Processing Center, about 25 miles away.

An ICE spokesperson told the Orlando Sentinel on Wednesday that the couple’s arrests were part of a “targeted enforcement action,” adding in a statement that Baccega and Romanello overstayed their visas after they expired in 2021.

“Employment authorization, commonly referred to as a work permit, does not confer immigration status or prevent ICE from taking enforcement action, including arrest or removal proceedings,” the statement read. “As a result, Romanello and Baccega will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.”

The couple’s friends in Florida and Arizona have scrambled to find them legal representation and provide answers to their families in Argentina. A GoFundMe page raising money for their legal defense has raised nearly $38,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Alexa Neilen, a friend and coworker of the couple who has been contacting lawmakers following their arrest, said she is collecting their paperwork ahead of their hearings in immigration court. Their work permits, she said, are set to expire in 2029.

“They are light, they are joy, they are the epitome of Universal Orlando entertainment,” said Neilen, a vocalist on “The Untrainable Dragon” show. “They provide the eye contact, that love, that special moment. Not only are they great people, they’re great coaches and mentors.”

Spokespeople for U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando, and Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, whom Neilen said she contacted, did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

Baccega and Romanello’s arrests are among the tens of thousands of arrests of immigrants — most without criminal records — as part of a mass deportation campaign throughout President Donald Trump’s second term in office. That includes detainees whose circumstances mirror the couple’s, arrested despite having pending asylum claims and valid work permits.

Since Trump’s return to office, federal judges across the country have ruled against the government on thousands of habeas corpus cases filed by detained migrants claiming they have been illegally arrested and prevented from getting bond hearings before immigration judges, which are part of the Department of Justice and not the independent court system.

As of Wednesday, attorneys for Baccega and Romanello have not filed habeas cases in the District of Arizona.

“They’re hanging in there,” said Neilen, who has been in touch with the couple since their arrest. “They’re terrified, they’re in a horrible place in a cold, desolate room with hundreds of people just crowded in, and they’re hanging on as much as they can.”

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