DC youth baseball coach in ICE custody, faces deportation
A woman says her family is shaken after her husband was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this week.
Amaury Monsalve, who is from Venezuela, has permanent status and was seeking citizenship here in the United States.
He is known to many of his students as “Coach A.” His wife, Aniushka Monsalve, told News4 that for over 20 years, he has coached baseball for students at schools like Deal Middle School, Jackson Reed High School and Woodson High School.
His wife said he is a permanent resident and was applying to become a U.S. citizen. She said his application was denied after an error was found on his permanent residency paperwork, which he filled out with an attorney.
He had a scheduled hearing in immigration court Monday. Just the morning before, she said he was stopped by police in D.C. while he was working as a chauffeur.
They asked everybody to leave the car, to get out of the car, and they found an open container. They took everybody to the jail, to the station. Even though my husband was just a driver, he had to stay overnight, and when the next day come, and it was actually, he had to be in the superior court the same time he had to be in the immigration court.” Aniushka Monsalve said.
She said his attorneys attended the immigration hearing, while she waited outside for his release.
“We waited and waited and waited until the end of the court, just about to close, and all the people inside, as they were turning off the lights, my son asked, ‘Where is my dad?’ And they told him, ‘ICE took him,’” Aniushka Monsalve said.
She said the judge had issued an ICE detainer, and although Amaury Monsalve’s attorney filed an appeal, within days he had been transferred to an ICE processing center in Louisiana.
Throughout the years, Amaury Monsalve’s dedication went beyond the field. He was a volunteer with the Arcadia Foundation, leading programs like Voice of the Children, which provided baseball equipment and training for children in Venezuela.
His dedication also showed at home, where Aniushka Monsalve said he was a dedicated father to their two sons, who are both feeling his absence.
News4 reached out to ICE for comment on Amaury Monsalve’s detention and is still waiting on an answer.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to support his family covering costs as they move through his immigration process.
Aniushka Monsalve said the possibility of him being deported to Venezuela terrifies her and that she fears for his safety.
He has an immigration hearing scheduled for Nov. 3.
