The MVP of last month’s HBCU Baseball All-Star Game was taken into custody by ICE last week in New York, in an apparently violent scene, according to his U.S. citizen girlfriend.
Johan Sandoval, a baseball player at Savannah State, which competes at the D2 level, was leaving his girlfriend’s apartment complex on July 3 when ICE agents stopped him and blocked his car in what a Homeland Security official called “a targeted enforcement operation.”
Sandoval’s crime: overstaying his student visa, which was issued in 2022.
Sandoval, 22, is a native of the Dominican Republic. He’s on track to graduate in next spring, and is on full scholarship.
On the field, the 6’2”, 180-pound middle infielder hit .369 with five homers, 51 RBIs and a 1.067 OPS at Savannah State in the 2026 season, and he was named to the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division II All-South Region Second Team by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
His sister, Stacey, has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the family’s legal expenses, which at this writing has raised $32,961 toward a $40,000 goal.
“This has been an incredibly difficult and emotional experience for our family,” Stacey Sandoval wrote on the GoFundMe page. “Johan has no criminal history and has spent his time in the United States pursuing his education, serving his community, and striving toward a brighter future.
“Today, our immediate priority is securing the financial resources necessary to help bring him home while his immigration case proceeds.”
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Chris Graham
