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NYC youth baseball coach confronts ICE: ‘I may die here, but they will not take one of these kids'

Since the beginning of the Trump administration, fewer places are off-limits to agents.
NYC youth baseball coach confronts ICE: ‘I may die here, but they will not take one of these kids'
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A New York City baseball coach said he confronted immigration agents who questioned minors at a park.

Youman Wilder, founder of Harlem Baseball Hitting Academy, faced off with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on July 3 at Manhattan’s Riverside Park, where he’s coached boys of different ages.

The incident comes after ICE enforcement operations have ramped up in cities like New York, putting communities on high alert. Since the beginning of the Trump administration, fewer places are off-limits to agents.

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“We were just practicing, finishing up a practice and I went to shoot some hoops. And next thing I knew, we just see these guys coming in their uniforms,” Wilder, who has coached baseball in New York City for 20 years, told Scripps News Group.

He never expected to see ICE at a park located less than two miles from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"Upper West Side. The bastion of liberalism," he said. "I would’ve never thought that was going to happen up here.”

Wilder said that’s why he initially brushed off the agents’ presence.

"I didn't really think of it serious until I got closer and I'm listening to them ask ‘What's your name, where you're from, where's your parents?’” Wilder recounted. “And I was like ‘Whoa, this is really inappropriate.’”

Wilder said the men wore labeled gear indicating they were immigration officers. He said he also recognized them as ICE agents because he lives in Washington Heights, a predominantly Latino community where ICE raids have been carried out. ICE did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment.

While confronting the officers, Wilder said he kept calm and directed the boys under his care to retreat into a batting cage, putting himself between them and the agents.

“There's only one way to get into the cage, so my whole thing was I can control that. I was in front of the entrance and that's when I just said, you know, I may die here, but they will not take one of these kids,” he said.

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Wilder, who studied law, said he told one of the officers that the kids were invoking their Fifth Amendment rights — their right to remain silent.

“And I told him that he had no more rights than these kids and these kids had, no less rights than you do,” he said.

Wilder assumed the kids were approached by ICE agents because they were racially profiled. His baseball academy mostly serves boys with immigrant family backgrounds.

“Our kids are from Dominican Republic, Africa. Our kids are from Central America. We have some kids from Haiti. But they're all American kids," Wilder said. “All the kids that they saw up here that day were born in this country.”

The incident, which Wilder said took place early in the afternoon that day, was not recorded by anyone connected to his academy, as they were caught off guard. The long-time baseball coach doesn’t allow his players to use their phones during practice, but he said he is now reconsidering that rule going forward.

While none of his students were further approached by ICE, Wilder said the agents “made their point.”

“It was not about arresting people, it was to make a point,” he said. “I don't think they were here to take kids. They were just here just to make a statement: ‘We're here.’”

Wilder said the players involved in the incident haven’t returned to the park for practice, fearing for family members who may not have legal status. As a result of the incident, Wilder has changed practice times and locations. Still, he encourages his students to show up, reminds them of their rights, and promises to defend them.

"I tell my kids all the time, if you want to come, that's fine. No matter what, I'm going to be there at this time and I will protect you.”