San Diego Padres minor-league staffer Oswaldo Pirela detained by ICE in El Paso
San Diego Padres minor-league catching coordinator Oswaldo Pirela was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at El Paso International Airport on Sunday while returning from a work trip and remained in federal immigration custody on Tuesday, his family and officials said. His relatives described him as a 34-year-old Venezuelan with a pending asylum claim who had repeatedly renewed work authorization, while the Department of Homeland Security said he lacks legal status and will face removal proceedings.
Pirela’s family said he was stopped at about 5am at the airport; his sister, Daniela Pirela, told NBC News the timing and his wife, Kemberly Avila, told The Athletic he had been preparing to fly home to Arizona. He had been working with the El Paso Chihuahuas, the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate, and his family said he regularly travels for that role. The Padres said: “We recently became aware of the detainment of minor league catching coordinator Oswaldo Pirela in El Paso, Texas,” and added: “We are working to gather additional information and will not have any further comment at this time.” Major League Baseball told CNN the Padres had contacted Pirela’s family, and Avila said the club was helping them and that she had spoken with her husband since his detention.
ESPN reported Pirela’s brother said he was not carrying his physical work-permit card when he was stopped. Avila told The Athletic that the family have pending asylum applications and carry temporary identification cards. Relatives said Pirela arrived in the United States from Venezuela and applied for asylum in 2014, that he fled political persecution, that he renewed his work authorization whenever it approached expiration, and that he is pursuing an EB-2 employment-based visa.
DHS disputed the family’s account to CNN, saying Pirela entered the United States illegally in 2014, received permission to remain until February 2018, and stayed beyond that date; officials said he was not carrying documentation giving him legal status when approached. A DHS spokesperson said: “Work authorization or a pending application do not confer legal status in the United States.”
Pirela lives outside Phoenix with Avila and their two US-born daughters, his family said. Daniela Pirela told NBC News she had spoken with him briefly but knew little about the conditions of his detention; she said he told her he was all right, although she believed he was trying to prevent the family from worrying. He joined the Padres’ player-development staff in 2024 after three seasons as a catcher in the Texas Rangers’ minor-league system, including playing in the Dominican Summer League from 2009 to 2011.
The detention occurred amid the Trump administration’s push to accelerate deportations and expand the range of immigrants subject to arrest, and the article noted Major League Baseball has previously been drawn into the administration’s immigration enforcement actions; last year the Los Angeles Dodgers said they refused ICE agents access to stadium parking areas during enforcement operations in the city.
DHS said Pirela would remain in ICE custody while removal proceedings continued, and it was unclear on Tuesday when Pirela would next appear before an immigration court.