SAN DIEGO — San Diego Padres minor-league catching coordinator Oswaldo José Pirela was detained by immigration authorities in El Paso, Texas, and remained in custody, according to family and ICE detainee records.
His sister Daniela Pirela said in a phone interview that her brother, who was raised in Venezuela, was detained at El Paso International Airport at around 5 a.m. Sunday while traveling for work, which she said he does weekly for the Padres.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainee records showed Pirela in custody late Monday.
In a statement early Tuesday, the Padres said that they’d recently learned of Pirelas’ detainment. “We are working to gather additional information and will not have any further comment at this time,” the team said.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said that Pirelas entered the country legally on September 10, 2014, and was given permission to stay until February 10, 2018.
“In violation of our nation’s laws, he overstayed his welcome. When approached by law enforcement officers, he was not in possession of legal documentation granting him status in the country,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings and will receive due process.”
In a statement Wednesday, Pirela’s family disputed Homeland Security’s claims.
“Oswaldo legally entered the United States on a tourist visa and subsequently filed an asylum application. Since then, he has been involved in the immigration process and has obtained work permits related to that process,” the family wrote in a statement, translated from Spanish. “We consider it especially important to clarify the reference to the year 2018. Oswaldo’s tourist visa had an expiration date in 2018. However, the expiration date of a visa stamped in a passport does not, by itself, determine how long a person was authorized to remain in the United States, nor does it prove that he was without any immigration proceedings since that date.”
“For this reason, we request that DHS clarify specifically which document, immigration decision, or record it is using to assert that Oswaldo was illegally in the United States since 2018, especially given the records related to his asylum application and employment authorizations.”
Major League Baseball did not respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
Daniela Pirela said she spoke with her brother briefly but is not truly aware of the conditions he is living in while in detention.
“He’s a very strong person and he tries not to worry us,” she said. “He’s going to say he’s OK. That’s what he said.”
She said her brother is in the U.S. legally and sought asylum in 2014, when he first arrived in the country. Daniela Pirela said she doesn’t know why his asylum case has taken so long to process.
“He did everything lawfully as the U.S. asks,” she said. “He loves this country.”
Oswaldo Pirela has two U.S.-born daughters and lives outside Phoenix, Arizona, family members said on social media accounts verified by NBC News.
“Oswaldo, like me and other members of our family, was directly affected by persecution from the Venezuelan regime,” brother Jorge Heli Pirela said on Instagram. “We came to the United States seeking safety through the legal process, applied for asylum through the proper channels, and have worked hard to build our lives and become contributing members of American society.”
Jorge Pirela did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Monday.
On Instagram, he called Oswaldo “a devoted father, a dedicated coach, an exceptional worker, and someone who has earned the respect of his coworkers, former managers, employers, players, and the communities he has been part of.”
Daniela Pirela said she believes her brother was targeted due to his active asylum case. “There isn’t a reason why they detained him,” she said. “They still haven’t told us.”
The social media posts are part of the family’s rapid response to Pirela’s detention. They’ve publicly asked U.S. Rep. Abraham Hamadeh, D-Arizona, who represents Pirela’s home district, to intervene.
A spokesperson for the congressman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Relatives are hoping for his release and “due process,” his brother said. Daniela Pirela said the family is seeking a lawyer to help them free him.
Also speaking on Instagram, Pirela’s mother, Naivy Dominguez, said, “He is being unjustly detained, even though his lawful history in this country can be documented.”
She asked supporters to “speak up” and “tell the world who he truly is.”
Dominguez did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pirela was signed by the Texas Rangers in 2009 and remained with the organization for three years, playing multiple positions for the Dominican Summer League Rangers in the minors, according to Major League Baseball records.
His mother said family members are awaiting his return to Arizona.
“Today, his daughters are waiting for their father to come home,” she said. “His family is waiting for him. His community is standing behind him.”
