As this editor has said before, always be skeptical of headlines that include qualifiers like "critics say," "family members say," or "an attorney for the family says." In this case, the family of a certainly beloved youth baseball coach in the Washington, D.C. area is a lawful permanent resident who was taken into custody by ICE. WTOP News in Maryland has the details, or at least some of them.
A longtime youth baseball coach known throughout the D.C. region as “Coach A” is being held in ICE custody in Louisiana, according to his family, who say he is a lawful permanent resident with no criminal record working on securing his citizenship. https://t.co/OXUPumshv9
— WTOP (@WTOP) October 26, 2026
Funny how ICE also manages to detain them in the middle of securing their citizenship. Grace Newton reports for WTOP:
A longtime youth baseball coach known throughout the D.C. region as “Coach A” is being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Louisiana, according to his family.
Amaury Monsalve, a husband and father of two, has coached baseball in D.C. and Virginia for more than 25 years, including at Alice Deal Middle School, Jackson-Reed High School and Woodson High School. His family said Monsalve, who is originally from Venezuela, is a lawful permanent resident living in Virginia with no criminal record.
On Oct. 19, Monsalve was taken into ICE custody after a judge denied his citizenship case.
“Amaury’s difficulties stem, according to our examination, from serious errors made by a former immigration attorney more than 20 years ago, when Amaury had limited command of English,” Robert Carmona-Borjas, CEO and co-founder of the Arcadia Foundation, told WTOP. He said Monsalve is a lawful permanent resident who was seeking U.S. citizenship.
…
According to a police report, Monsalve was pulled over in a Chevy SUV for allegedly running a red light on the morning of Oct. 18. Police said they found a handgun, a fifth of tequila and a clear bag with a white powder — reportedly determined to be cocaine.
Ah, according to the Arcadia Foundation, a non-profit that assists immigrants in navigating legal systems and programs.
ICE is pushing back heavily on this story from @WTOP. ICE says this "youth baseball coach" is a Venezuelan illegal alien who has a deportation order after his green card was revoked following immigration fraud proceedings and he also has a prior arrest for gun & drug offenses.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) October 27, 2026
Here's ICE's side of the story:
Another sob story headline that conveniently leaves out the facts. Amaury Jose Monsalve Figuera, a CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIEN from Venezuela, was arrested for firearms, ammunition, drug, and open-container offenses. His green card was revoked following immigration fraud proceedings, and an immigration judge ordered his removal on October 19. Work authorization or a pending application does NOT make you an American citizen or give you the right to remain in this country. He remains in ICE custody pending DEPORTATION.
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) October 27, 2026
The post continues:
… proceedings, and an immigration judge ordered his removal on October 19. Work authorization or a pending application does NOT make you an American citizen or give you the right to remain in this country. He remains in ICE custody pending DEPORTATION.
The “youth baseball coach” is a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela who was arrested for firearms and drug offenses and has a removal order signed by a judge
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 27, 2026
@BillMelugin_ @WTOP A coaching job isn't immigration status. Per ICE, he lost his green card in fraud proceedings and has a removal order. Carrying out a removal order isn't a raid on a youth coach. Leave out the order and you've left out the case.
— Deron E. Smallcomb, Esq. (@DeronSmallcomb) October 27, 2026
@BillMelugin_ @WTOP A coaching job isn't immigration status. Per ICE, he lost his green card in fraud proceedings and has a removal order. Carrying out a removal order isn't a raid on a youth coach. Leave out the order and you've left out the case.
— Deron E. Smallcomb, Esq. (@DeronSmallcomb) October 27, 2026
@BillMelugin_ @johnnydollar @WTOP Also, why are illegal aliens coaching our kids?
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) October 27, 2026
And how did he get a handgun?
@BillMelugin_ @WTOP They can try to paint all the narratives they want, there is no statute of limitations on illegal immigration and committing more crimes only makes you more deportable.
— Tim Wilkins for Congress (@TimWilkinsFL) October 27, 2026
@BillMelugin_ @WTOP In California we have to go through background checks to coach youth sports. Sounds like “Coach A” should never have been around kids to begin with.
— FBAnalytics (@analytics_fb) October 27, 2026
@libsoftiktok Funny how the local news story left out the gun and drug arrest. A judge already signed the removal order. Put him on the plane.
— Paul of Legally Armed America (@Paul_of_LAA) October 27, 2026
@libsoftiktok "According to his family"
— Christian Wright Anti-communist ✝️ (@CorvilleWrights) October 27, 2026
@libsoftiktok "He's just turning his life around!"
— GalosGann (@galos_gann) October 27, 2026
@WTOP He ran a red light with an illegal gun, a bottle of tequila, and a bag of cocaine in his truck. He was here illegally and his citizenship was denied. "No criminal record working on securing his citizenship" my ass. Journalists need to be imprisoned.
— Inward Gaze (@inward_gaze_) October 27, 2026
Publish the family's story first, and then publish ICE's after the narrative has already gone out:
UPDATE: We reached out to DHS to ask why Monsalve was detained before this story was published. They did not respond, so we published our story with all the information available to us from MPD and Monsalve's family. Now that they have responded, we are working on an update.
— WTOP (@WTOP) October 27, 2026
@WTOP So you published a BS story and got caught doing it - but your post is still here.
— IroncladOak (@IroncladOak) October 27, 2026
@WTOP Maybe you should have waited and done more research.
— RidiculouslySpoiledCat (@spoiled_the) October 27, 2026
That would have been the thing to do.
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Editor’s Note: We voted for mass deportations, not mass amnesty. Help us continue to fight back against those trying to go against the will of the American people.
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