By Gus Saltonstall
After coaching baseball on the west side of Manhattan for more than 20 years, Youman Wilder says he had a first-of-a-kind experience at the end of last month.
Wilder was leading a group of 11 middle school and high school kids through a batting cage practice near 72nd Street in Riverside Park, when he had an unexpected run-in with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, according to the baseball coach.
“I go over quickly and the agents are asking the kids inappropriate things like where they are from, their country of origin, so I say, ‘whoa, whoa,’ and I tell the officers that their questions are inappropriate, and that I’m going to tell my kids not to answer them,” Wilder told the Rag.
On July 3, WSR sent an email to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to confirm if agents had been in Riverside Park on that day. On July 7, we received a call from a spokesperson from the agency who wasn’t able to confirm anything on the record at the time, but said they would send an email with an official statement by Thursday.
The Rag has not received that email as of Friday morning, and we have sent multiple follow-up calls and emails. We will update this story, if we do hear back on the record from the federal agency.
However, on July 3, Upper West Side Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal included a section in her newsletter titled — “ICE Sighting on the Upper West Side.”
“I recently learned that ICE agents approached a group of kids attending baseball practice near the batting cages near West 71st Street in Riverside Park,” Rosenthal wrote, as first reported by ILovetheUpperWestSide. “The only thing that stood between those kids in Riverside Park and a Florida detention center buried deep in the Everglades was a brave coach who knew the law.”
There have been examples of people impersonating ICE officers and the Rag has not been able to independently confirm as of Friday if ICE agents were in Riverside Park at the end of last month.
We did get in touch with that “brave coach,” though.
Here is our phone interview with Wilder, who has run the Harlem Baseball Hitting Academy since 2003, about his account of what happened within the Upper West Side section of Riverside Park on June 26. We also asked Wilder if he could put us in touch with any of the parents of the children who were in Riverside Park on that day, but he told us the families said they were not comfortable speaking to a reporter about the issue, even anonymously.
WSR: Would you start with a retelling of the events from your perspective?
Wilder: We were about to finish up practice and my kids always tell me I’m old and can’t shoot a basketball, so I went over to the nearby court to shoot around. When I’m over there, I see people looking like federal agents in a different area, but I wasn’t paying much attention. Next thing I know, I look back at the batting cage and I see them talking to my kids.
WSR: What happened next?
Wilder: I go over quickly and the agents are asking the kids inappropriate things like where they are from, their country of origin, so I say, ‘whoa, whoa,’ and I tell the officers that their questions are inappropriate, and that I’m going to tell my kids not to answer them.
WSR: How did the officers respond to that?
Wilder: The officers started talking to me about obstruction of justice, and I repeated that the kids don’t have to speak to them, and as the person in charge of them right now, I’m going to tell them not to speak to you. Then they started to talk about cuffing me, and that if the kids were here legally, what do they have to lose by answering. I told them that they still have their fifth and fourth amendment rights, and that they don’t have to speak to you or help with any investigation.
WSR: And just to be clear. Why did you think they were ICE agents?
Wilder: They said they were ICE and were wearing everything. They had ICE on their chest. They had their guns. They had their tasers.
WSR: And can you tell me a little bit more about the kids?
Wilder: 11 of them. All American-born in high school or junior high, but families from Africa, South America, and Mexico.
WSR: What were you thinking in the moment, both related to agents going up to kids in Riverside Park, and also about telling you that they would put you in cuffs for obstructing?
Wilder: It’s all about civics. If you don’t know your rights, they will trample on them. Knowing the law and understanding that they had no right to ask anything of these kids, who are American citizens, and don’t have anything to prove to them. The officers were saying we don’t know if they are American citizens, but I said, it doesn’t matter if they are American citizens or not, they still have constitutional rights, you still violate their 4th, 5th, or 14th amendment rights.
WSR: Did any other adults passing by get involved or take a photo or video of the interaction?
Wilder: That was another thing that was crazy. There were people watching and the agents were telling them to move back, that they would be arrested for interfering, and not to take pictures. The worst thing is that the six or seven people who were watching, followed their orders!
WSR: Did you have any moment of hesitation in terms of pushing back on the agents?
Wilder: No, there was no moment of hesitation. Law school {Wilder says he has a law-related degree from Grand Canyon University] teaches you what to do in those moments. I knew that they could arrest me, but I knew that they couldn’t keep me. My whole thing is that I’m African American, and most of my kids are Latino and Black, so it was all about how do I get these kids home. I never raised my voice. I just talked about the law. And I was just focused on how can I get these kids to where they need to go, when they are in my care.
WSR: And the agents eventually left?
Wilder: Yes, they eventually left.
WSR: Have you and the kids been back to that area of Riverside Park?
Wilder: No, the kids have not been back yet. The families don’t want them returning to the Upper West Side area of the park. We’ve been meeting farther uptown now.
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This guy’s a hero. Never talk to ICE for any reason except to ask them for ID and a warrant. If you see any masked armed men kidnapping people off the streets call 911 and report it as a kidnapping in progress.
Agree, this man is a hero; teaching more than baseball. I looked online and found an old go fund me: “HARLEM BASEBALL HITTING ACADEMY”. Let’s donate and show what America truly is. Baseball and civics.
This is Trump’s “Schutzstaffel” or “SS,”, it was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, which was initially formed as Hitler’s personal bodyguard unit. Over time, it became a powerful and feared organization responsible for various functions, including political, police, and military operations.
LOL! I’m laughing, but not WITH you.
So ICE needs to show ID, but folks here illegally can’t be questioned…upside down.
Yes, absolutely. Law enforcement officials are required to identify themselves. We have rights. What country do you live in? Russia?
No one has the right to demand ID unless they are duly authorized law enforcement who have witnessed you commit a crime. Land of the Free. Innocent until Proven Guilty! That is Right Side Up!!!
It’s amazing how many of you are confidently, loudly uninformed.
TL;DR: nothing you wrote is true.
The point is Mr. Moore..
Due process must be demonstrated by both parties, “folks”involved..That’s what it is to be an AMERICAN and protected by our CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS..Consult your UCLA ‘rights’ info Sir..
Masked men without ID, questioning children operate only in Dictatorships and Oligarchies and that is not America. Yet.
Immigration enforcement is not kidnapping.
Adam, I just responded to Jerome below, that would be directed to you as well.
“enforcement” implies following the law and acting according to the space ir creates for its implementation. Asking kids where they are from is not that, sir.
Asking kids where they are from is not kidnapping either.
A stranger asking a child ANYTHING is inappropriate. Every parent teaches their children never to speak to strangers
You don’t get it, do you!
When you call 911 that is what you say ! …It may not be a kidnapping, but the response is higher by 911 and faster priority.
It’s like reporting a robbery with a man with a gun, but in reality, he doesn’t have a gun.
The response level by 911 will be faster with much more back- up and phaser ready than a man without a gun.
Children should not be approached by adults in the park unless they are breaking the law. or harming someone. This was clearly racial
profiling.
It is, if they cannot provide information and or ID. Per law, children cannot speak for themselves so the person who is in charge of them is the one to be answering questions. You do know this, right?
Also, as we’ve seen, ICE has also been KIDNAPPING American born citizens, just because they look different.
> Per law, children cannot speak for themselves so the person who is in charge of them is the one to be answering questions. You do know this, right?
Cite this law you speak of. Be specific. No vague references like “the constitution”.
Short story, you (and the 50 people who voted for your comment) have no idea what you’re talking about. Anyone can be asked questions by law enforcement, at any age.
Where is your evidence that ICE has been kidnapping American citizens? Why would they do that? I don’t buy that propaganda for one second. These kind of lies and distortions put ICE workers in danger. Perhaps you should have some empathy for agents who are trying to keep you safe and take hardened criminals off the streets. Why don’t you give them credit for that?
Hardened criminals … like hot dog vendors, car wash employees, gardeners, fathers of military personnel, just to name a few?
You have not been following the news, huh? Multiple people in high profile news stories have been arrested and detained for long periods of time and without their due process rights. That is, indeed, kidnapping. Do you homework.
You wouldn’t care if the evidence was right in front of you. Are you denying that Trump is a criminal….
Name ONE hardened criminal they’ve taken. If they had one he’d be the poster child for this whole farce. College students, workers, kids, legal amnesty seekers are easy numbers boosters. I hope they all sue and get rich.
Is that a serious comment? Where is the evidence? Try changing the channel – it’s been covered by numerous outlets. Seriously?
According to the Cato Institute (which is libertarian, not left), “65 Percent of People Taken by ICE Had No Convictions, 93 Percent No Violent Convictions.” https://www.cato.org/blog/65-people-taken-ice-had-no-convictions-93-no-violent-convictions?fbclid=IwY2xjawLetXpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHuQCHZ17a4ki48rubKOp6z5lq-dMOIf-A8MUzeb3J58AjiRYvhLse7GGv3KM_aem_K-Oaj7hsslnB1MzoPbHgnA
You have no clue who’s a hardened criminal, and with those kids, ICE doesn’t know either. You have to ask WHY NOW? The one question that no one seems to ask.
This may not have anything to do ultimately with immigration, but something else much more worrisome. Folks, the clues are here. Figure it out.
We can’t. Spell it out for us. Why now? Always keen to learn from the more enlightened.
I don’t believe that.
Where is it codified that it’s kidnapping if they don’t provide information or ID? They CAN do that and have authority to detain criminals. They also CAN interrogate people if there’s probable cause. I’m not referring to children but anyone else of legal age. All this nonsense about ICE agents kidnapping people is truly mindless blather.
When I see all those nitwits harassing Federal agents pull off their own masks, we can have a conversation about Federal agents unmasking. Until that happens, I hope the agents continue taking dangerous illegals off our streets.
Arresting people, detaining them, holding them, sending them to foreign countries WITHOUT due process is exactly kidnapping. That is what due process is for. To prevent kidnapping by the govt. this has happened numerous times and perpetrated by ICE. Just check the news. Do your homework. Inform yourself. Just search for ICE detentions without due process. It’s easy to find.
In this case there was NO PROBABLE CAUSE…to ask if they, the children were legal..Unless you think having brown skin might be illegal…WHICH IT ISNT
> In this case there was NO PROBABLE CAUSE
How do you know? You have inside information?
ICE can briefly detain individuals based on “reasonable suspicion” in some situations. That burden is far less than probable cause. Unfortunately racial profiling is one element of reasonable suspicion.
Racial profiling, when it comes to immigration enforcement far away from a border crossing, is NOT “reasonable suspicion.”
It’s not immigration enforcement if no one concerned is an immigrant—especially children! This was purely racist, targeting children of color. Bravo Coach Wilder and thank you for giving all of us a lesson of what to do when ICE comes hunting.
Agreed!..
Violation of immigration law is a civil offense. There should be no “arrest.“ You would need an actual warrant to arrest a person which means to deprive them of their liberty under the fourth and fifth amendments.
Regardless, someone here illegally should be deported, its the law. Enough with this never ending nonsense debate.
Why not an amnesty if they have been here for years paying taxes, no criminal record, raising a family. Deporting them makes no sense!
Someone remind me why the highly educated and economically powerful Northeastern states need to share a country with the taker states in flyover country?
It makes less and less sense that we are sending our tax dollars to subsidize Alabama and Kentucky so they can vote in terrible leaders and send in these ICE goons to harass kids on our streets.
Please, inform yourself. Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky has been heroic as his state deals with unfathomable human problems.
What kind of unfathomable human problems are you talking about?
Wow. So you’ve never enjoyed a Kentucky bourbon? And you don’t count ‘Bama as highly educated? How snobbish and closed minded
I enjoy a Kentucky bourbon, just like I enjoy a French wine. We don’t need to be in the same country to trade goods & services.
Is New York getting good value for our federal tax dollars? Do we still have shared values with the thugs red states keep electing?
(and no, by any metric, ‘Bama is not highly educated…)
How about you take care first of your own thugs in streets of NYC.
Yeah. ICE out of NYC
I make a point to take frequent trips out of NYC so I don’t end up like this guy
I make a point not to travel to, or spend money in, any red state.
That’s exactly the kind of divisive attitude rending the country. Brava!
Sadly that’s what Canadians now feel about traveling in America..
Sad, yet completely understandable. Sad.
Thank you for this. The other local coverage of this incident had so many holes in it. This is the difference between doing real reporting versus blogging.
The # 1 app on Apple store is ICEBlock.
Download it and then show up at locations where they are abusing rights.
Or randomly report ICE sightings.
Actually it’s not even in the top 20. And the top app is ChatGPT. IceBlock in #8 on Social Networking Apps – but nice try.
Its helpful to report a sighting when you encounter long lines or traffic somewhere.
Sorry, I do have job, don’t have time to play social justice warrior all day long.
Your job is to be a social justice warrior all day long.
You know you don’t have a job!
But yet… you have time for this.
Use your time better.
Better what?
Be careful there Hero, Ice Agents are often not from New York and unlike the NYPD they don’t take crap from loudmouth New Yorkers.
Explaining constitutional rights to kids under your charge is not “crap”. Even if the goon squad doesn’t like it.
Without the force of the state they are nothing. That is why they hide behind masks and the law.
It seems most of them slink away pretty fast when confronted. They know they’re in the wrong.
How can it show where ICEis abusing rights? Do you mean it would show when I e shows up with a warrant, versus just gathering people off thebstreeet?
Those poor kids, as a parent cannot even imagine, just reading this is terrifying enough. That coach is not only way more level headed than many, but is a hero!
So they might not be ICE agents? No confirmation that they were ICE?
That’s right sir..They maybe vigilantes..Paid bounty hunters, collecting ‘heads’..No iD and masked?..What’s the problem if they have nothing to hide?
He has no proof. So I do not believe him.
Bystanders were warned not to take pictures or they would be arrested.
Mr. Wilder is a hero. Thank you for standing up for those kids. We can all learn from you.
Why on earth would ICE be heading to the baseball filed in Riverside?! I can only think it would be because someone saw black and brown kids and called in a complaint.
Mr. Wilder is a hero!
Lol youre so bent out of shape over uncorroborated claims haha 😂
Pozo, I’m guessing you’re young? No children (that you know of)? Why don’t you stop back in when you’ve become an adult?
Sir,
Wait ’til its your turn ..or someone you know..or your kids who end up on plane to El Salvador..HA HA HA!
That is the oddest assumption. Why would anyone notice that there are black kids in Riverside Park – it is unremarkable,
More likely it is because there are asylum shelters nearby, and kids are in those shelters and the kids play in the park. Pure racial profiling on ICE’s part.
Also this is NYC. Most people do not see “black child” and think “African immigrant.” And as for ‘brown kids” – how many Dominican families have been here longer than plenty of white Americans?
I sincerely doubt someone called ICE. I bet it is more connected to the nearby shelters
I see this guy at the 72nd Street batting cages all the time. Seems like a nice guy and cares about the kids he works with.
No confirmation or pictures ?
You expect him to have badge numbers? Those are often covered.
Why don’t you just say you think he’s lying?
I was trying to be polite.
If this happened:
I was not expecting them to take selfies,
but some type of photo as they allegedly left the area.
OPOE,
That you say “allegedly left” tells me you’re not serious.
Assuming the event happened, they left the area.
If you question the event, than everything is alleged, not just leaving the area.
Question, why would Mr. Wilder lie? It doesn’t look like he’s trying to develop following on some internet platform.
Yes, I question the event.
I thought I was clear.
As for why someone would lie, I will list reasons again:
1. Publicity
2. Launching political run.
3. Basis for lawsuit.
4. Hero syndome.
Need I go on ?
OPOE,
Except perhaps “hero syndrome”, you’re reaching.
And remember, you’ve provided no evidence for. your conspiracy theory. Yes, conspiracy theories can indeed reflect reality, but so far that doesn’t appear to be the case here.
Jussie Smollett will tell you,liberals never lie. If no video shows up in the next two days then you know this is bullsht.
No video wouldn’t be proof.
The witnesses were too intimidated to photograph this bunch while they were near, and photos taken from afar would be of little value — how is this not a plausible scenario?
Too intimidated… lol right. Very convenient for your argument 😆
Because aggressive, masked men bearing weapons have never intimidated anyone, right? How inconceivably far-fetched!
Planet Pozo must be a charming place.
Pozo for the win.
1. Inconsistencies in the account of the event(s).
2. It is human nature to video every event these days.
Having some type of evidence might help, in event they were impersonating ice agents.
(1) To specifically which inconsistencies do you refer?
(2) It is also human nature, at least among some humans, to feel intimidated by aggressive, masked men bearing weapons who are, ostensibly, authority figures. You HAVE noticed this phenomenon, have you not? I believe it predates the habit of videoing everything.
Yes, we can agree more evidence would be good; it usually is.
Sounds like fake news
Why on earth would someone make this up? Get out of NY if this is how you think.
Wow, get out of NY if someone doesn’t believe what you believe, I thought you Libs liked inclusiveness.
There are other places for your kind, you know — Texas, Florida, Montana, etc. And including regions abroad, there are Russia, China, North Korea…. We just want you living somewhere you’ll be happy: call it liberal benevolence if you like.
Liberals don’t tolerate fascists. We learned that lesson the hard way in the 1940s
1. Publicity
2. Launching political run.
3. Basis for lawsuit.
4. Hero syndome.
Need I go on ?
This is how NY Post believers think. It’s also how NY Times Russiagate imbibers think.
They think they can wish away anything they don’t like:
It’s fake! Prove it!
In the cases of NYT readers their wish is for Russiagate to be true.
Incidentally both groups are very angry at a certain social democrat..
I don’t know what happened here, however Ice agents for the most part are hard working men and woman who are doing a very tough job. A job that would not be necessary if the people who controlled Biden did not throw open the border.
Lets stop responding to this fella..OKAY?
Thanks for your response, lol
We all know what happened here. Fox news made you believe that your problems were someone else’s fault and now you’re repeating what you were told.
I disagree, watching what has been going on in San Francisco near my home, the ICE agents are disrespectful bullies when interacting with people.
I’m quite sure the people in San Francisco are not too polite to ICE agents, which is why San Francisco is a giant crap hole.
Hard working based on what? If they’re doing a very tough job, quit. Get lost. Get a real job where you’re not making innocent peoples’ lives hell with no due process. Obama was tougher on border patrol than idiot wannabe tough guy Trump. Would you right wingers even just once get the history straight?
Bill, thank you for sharing facts – something that is ignored by some.
ICE has been hiring thugs, paying 1000.00 for each person they “capture” and they are detaining American citizens for no other reason than their skin color. That’s racist authoritarian fascism!!
How do you know about the money set up?
No, they pay $1000.00 and plane ticket to illegals who self deport. ICE Agents are federal employees who are paid a salary.
Except we don’t really know who they are, do we?
Masked and NO ID..
Sounds like they were also doing an illegal job in Riverside Park South.
What is it with this open border claim? It’s fake.
Apparently, the usual UWS progressive crowd would prefer our ICE agents to not do their job. How dare they question anyone’s origins, these evil immigration officers…
“Immigration officers” in quotes. Goons who cover their faces and don’t show official badges or warrants. We don’t know who they really are. Might as well be muggers or kidnappers. This is no way to run a legitimate immigration operation.
And what job would that be? Questioning minors and possibly abducting them?
You mean their job of kidnapping people off the street?
Who cares if they are here illegally.
Millions of people, Jason. It was a top issue in the November election. Millions of people care about border security. Especially Laken Riley’s mom
Jason’s point is that legally here or not isn’t a distinction real important to ICE when it’s profiling and harassing brown and black minors.
Also, stop acting like undocumented immigrants are any more likely to commit violent felonies than citizens and those with green cards.
It’s a skill like anything else.
You would have defended the gestapo during WWII. Shame on you.
They have no shame, the only thing fascists understand is violence
The job they’re doing is not “necessary” at all. Screw all of them so hard I have zero sympathy for hooded anonymous Nazi-style government agents.
You realize the “everyone Rachel Maddow ordered me to hate is a Nazi” argument just lost you the last election, right?
Ok. But what does that have to do with this instance?
OK. But what was the goal here? Even if a kid said “I’m from Venezuela” were the ICE agents going to detain that CHILD and deport them? No kid carries around proof of citizenship. Adults don’t either.
Let’s go Brandon
Next questions would have been “Where do you live? Where do your parents work?” Kids should be taught not to talk to strangers, especially those with masks.
Non-citizens over 18 are required, by law to carry your immigration documents. If you do not, you can be detained.
Anyone, of any age, can be questioned by an ICE agent within 100 miles of the border. You do not have to answer, but you can be detained if there is probable cause. If you are on a time-limited visa, you are in fact required by law to disclose your status if asked. If you decline, you may be arrested.
Feelings are not facts.
https://www.aclu.org/documents/constitution-100-mile-border-zone
By this way of thinking, some two-thirds of Americans live in a Constitution-free zone. How utterly, utterly convenient … at least for tyrants.
By this way of thinking, some two-thirds of Americans live in a Constitution-free zone. How utterly, utterly convenient … at least for tyrants.
Nice shirt you have there. Brown’s not my color, though.
https://www.aclu.org/documents/constitution-100-mile-border-zone
Adam Smith, If an ICE age t asks me for my documents and I don’t have any how do they know if I am a non-citizen and can legally be detained?
If they have probable cause (i.e. reason to believe that you are actually illegally in the country), they can detain you until you provide that evidence in court.
It’s not rocket science, folks. You’re just *assuming* that they don’t have probable cause. Police regularly ask questions of people whom they suspect of crimes in order to trap them in lies.
Like I said I don’t know what happened and I seriously don’t think the coach knows why ICE was there. They don’t deport US citizens so if what the coach said is true and they are all citizens they should have nothing to worry about.
That’s an age old excuse. “I don’t care if they are listening to or watching us 24 hours a day. I have nothing to worry about.” That’s how we have casually been giving up our freedoms little by little. I don’t know how you feel about your rights but I’m still using mine.
Of course the coach DID know why ICE was there, but ICE should know why they were there and not question children. If you were following actual news you would know that ICE has indeed grabbed and actually deported people who are citizens; they have taken people with work permits; they have grabbed people who have asylum and are fleeing from violence in their own countries, if they are sent back they could be imprisoned as political prisoners, or executed; they have taken people out of court where they were going through the citizenship process; they have taken people accidentally, in the wrong place, wrong time, wrong name; they’ve gone after people in church which has historically been a sanctuary; they have grabbed children out of class …
If you don’t know any of this, if you or yours feel untouchable, you are in for a rude awakening.
If these kids were US citizens how would they prove that? Would ICE detain them until they got a hold of their parents whi could get the proper paperwork? Does it not bother you at all the ICE would question children.
You do don’t even know that this was the intent. Do you see how you’re leaping to conclusions?
They do deport US citizens, they also throw away their papers and “lose” them in their system. Get real, this is nazism.
I sincerely hope you are joking when you said that ICE does not detain US citizens. If so, you are ignoring the news. I also hope you’re not advocating for a country in which some people just should tolerate racial profiling that most don’t even have to think about simply because “they should have nothing to worry about” in the end and eventually, it might work out for them after they have been harassed/humiliated/terrorized. How did beneficiaries of our constitution get so cavalier about upholding and defending it?
I said deport, not detain.
They do both.
Precisely. And shrugging off detention (particularly of children!) as “nothing to worry about” tells me everything we need to know about OPOD. The 4th amend. exists because we all understand that no human wants to be snatched from their lives by the government, even temporarily. But people are being more than snatched. These detentions are often secretive and non-transparent–you are denied access to loved ones and to legal counsel. They can be violent. You are detained in horrific conditions, where you are denied a safe and hygienic place to sleep, eat, shower, use the restroom, or obtain medical care. They are not time-restricted; it can take weeks, if not months, to get any relief. Meanwhile, your life (your housing, children, job, schooling) are all at risk as you wait for help. And the gov. makes mistakes. Those mistakes can be deadly–deadly, as in people have already died in these facilities; deadly as in, you might find yourself unfairly on a plane to an unknown country because of an administrative error. OPOD would never tolerate any of this for themselves or those they care about; my best guess is that they think these teens should suffer that fate as “nothing to worry about” because OPOD hasn’t considered or perhaps doesn’t value their humanity.
Did they see ICE cream trucks maybe ?
Are you a parent? I certainly hope not.
They are putting in drop boxes, They have the white metal boxes they put them in front of delis they put a big sign on them ICE.
I like that reference.
Will add to list.
HA HA HA
Federal immigration agents asking kids where they are from and what countries of origin… So just doing their job. So shocking… UWS people, get a life. We do have federal laws, you don’t like them, move somewhere else.
How do those boots taste?
They would not be boots.
It would be tactical footwear.
Please slur correctly.
eg. How does the tactical footwear taste ?
There are laws about authorities speaking to minors without the consent of a parent or legal guardian. Nice try, gestapo lover.
Parental consent is not required.
I meant to type “7” States
Unfortunately any State laws regarding questioning minors won’t affect an ICE agent as they perform their mission of vanishing people (since it’s not a State court issue). Neither does an internal ICE policy stop agents from questioning minors. So unfortunately this hero was uninformed regarding the wide legal latitude that ICE agents have to question minors and others. But I’m so glad he informed them of their rights and told them to “lawyer up and shut up”…the best advice for a minor when asked a question from ICE or law enforcement of any type. Just because ICE can ask, doesn’t mean you have to answer except in the most extreme situations. But first before “lawyering up and shutting up” they should be taught to ask “am I detained or am I free to go” and if the answer isn’t you are detained, to walk calmly away. There are countries where minors cannot be lied to by people in law enforcement and the judicial system….but unfortunately federal officers and ICE (and State law enforcement in all but 4 States) can lie to minors all they want. It’s such a legally dangerous situation for minors to talk to ICE or the police.
If only the gestapo was just deporting people back to their country of origin. Such a nice and logical comparison….
You are saying that the deportees are being deported to their country of origin now? Is that what you are saying, Jerome?
Jerome, how do all those boots taste?
Boots actually taste better when you do not commit crime and respect our federal immigration laws.
Jerome, you may read the news somewhere, but obviously you think being illegally detained or arrested in this country only happens to “other people” and “only criminals”. You are probably a perfect boy who listened to his mama. But, if you may know people who are black or brown skinned.you will understand a humiliating, degrading, and … still illegal (?) practice called “stop and frisk”. Eh, prolly don’t mean nothin’ to you, a perfect White boy, right?
Stop and frisk is not illegal on a federal level. federal authorities are entitled to stop and frisk anyone. De Blasio and the other NYS leftist clowns changed a local and state law, not the federal law.
Way to miss the point. Democratic societies that respect human rights don’t use ANY boots.
They really do!
Linda Rosenthal said : “The only thing that stood between those kids in Riverside Park and a Florida detention center buried deep in the Everglades was a brave coach who knew the law.”
We are not represented by serious people.
Take it from me SW Florida is awesome, they should enjoy theirs short stay, before they go HOME.
Talking about knowing the law, too bad people crossing our borders illegally (and apparently the UWS progressive warrior patrol) don’t.
Jerome,
It is a civil offense to cross the border into the US ; it is not a crime.
It becomes a crime if you do so after having been formally deported.
https://www.harlembaseballacademy.org/donate
I sent him some appreciation
Lots of boot lickers in these comments! ICE will never be welcome on the UWS
Speak for yourself, Mel. I’ll buy them a beer!
I have bought them numerous beers
What? Your generosity is overwhelming..
what an unserious comment. who was the boot licker 4 years ago?
Nobody is asking you for your opinion on ICE showing up on the UWS, unless I am wrong but Manhattan is still located in the US, so Feds still have full authority around here.
Yessir, Jerome. You are, in fact. wrong.
Feds don’t have the authority to go around asking for “your papers” without a warrant anywhere in the USA.
Actually, they do. Explicitly so — anywhere within 100 miles of a US border.
Y’all get so self-righteous, but you literally have no idea what you’re talking about.
That’s a dubious allowance + extension of the border. But I agree, feds do it. Happened to someone I knew, his truck with NY plates was taken apart beside a NM highway.
Also, we’re not within a 100 miles of an international border. No, the ocean border doesn’t count.
So you’ve brought up an unconstitutional exemption, which doesn’t apply to this case, and doesn’t apply to most of the geographic USA.
NYC is not run by federal agencies, if we did that would be called a police state, but perhaps you would like that since licking boots is apparently your thing.
They don’t need your invitation.
Yes, they do. Sorry, but you are wrong.
Why are some of you indignant FOR the ICE men?. “Those poor guys, they’re just doin’ their job!” I’m a White woman and I don’t want my kids answering pointed questions from men they don’t know. If they are ICE they should have an ID, they should have a warrant, and if they are ICE they should not need to ask kids questions about their origins or that of the locals. Don’t they know who they’re looking for when they go into a neighborhood.? Maybe all y’all are okay with your own children answering questions that tattle on their neighbors? Maybe you tell your kids to turn in any brown skinned adult “just in case”. Maybe YOUR kids would be real proud of themselves.
You don’t seem to understand that ICE has a quota to fulfill. ICE isn’t showing up at active crime scenes. They aren’t taking criminals. They are taking people away from their jobs. They’ve been taking people without warrants, without identifying themselves, while covering their faces with masks, they’ve taken naturalized citizens, and people with green cards, they are taking people out of courts where they are going through the legal process of becoming a citizen, they’ve gone into churches, into schools to take children – this sounds pretty random and haphazard. Not like a professional operation.
.There is so much nuance here, better to just tell your kids not to talk to strangers rather than let your kids innocently turn in the local hotdog vendor, or nanny, or janitor …
> If they are ICE they should have an ID, they should have a warrant, and if they are ICE they should not need to ask kids questions about their origins or that of the locals.
Immigration enforcement does not require a warrant to stop someone within 100 miles of a US border. Moreover, they can question anyone. Your opinions of propriety are irrelevant.
If you do not want your children to answer questions from federal law enforcement, I suggest you teach them how to respectfully refuse to answer questions, as is their 4th ammendment right.
> You don’t seem to understand that ICE has a quota to fulfill. ICE isn’t showing up at active crime scenes. They aren’t taking criminals. They are taking people away from their jobs.
If you are here illegally, you are breaking the law, and are therefore a criminal, by definition.
We’re not within a 100 miles of the border. No, the ocean border doesn’t count.
Nobody is forcing people to come here illegally. You do it at your own risk to face ICE eventually. End of the whining story.
Actually a lot of US policies in places like Venezuela are forcing people to flee to the USA, where they cross the border legally.
These comments are hilarious!
Yes. Agreed but also. sad..Justice and our Constitution will make the decision on these matters..we hope… We hope.
And heavily censored
No, they’re far from hilarious when they cheapen the meaning of genuine Nazi ideology and gestapo tactics. Shame on those that equate ICE agents with Nazis. It’s detestable to focus on the mechanics versus the missions of ICE and the Nazi machine.
As a Jew, I am sensitive to the use of the whole Naziism comparison. That said, it’s certainly displaying certain similarities. Bottom line is Trump is abusing power and ignoring the constitution. It’s disgusting that people like you support these tactics.
How?
Well put sir.
Thank you Mr. Wilder for your decency and quick thinking! You are a hero.
There are few things more beautiful than a man with a backbone. Youman Wilder is a real one and may ICE be abolished along with the Department of Homeland Security. Both of those agencies are abominations (along with the many tentacles of the carceral state) and the warnings about them from around 2002 have come true.
Yes, lets abolished ICE, Homeland Security and all borders in general. Lets also remove all immigration lines and booths at our airport when we land. Lets just live in a world full of butterflies, puppies and ice cream. People like you are dangerous or ignorant, not sure which.
This is my son’s coach and it was a very scary situation for the boys. My 14yr old was there and I am thankful to Youman for being there with these kids.
Hey Sara, hopefully you’ll never see the incredibly lame comments by those two pathetic bros “Justin” and “Jason” but it wasn’t right for those agents to be questioning underage kids. I’m glad the coach is speaking out as he has and reminding us what not to take for granted while our civil liberties are being trampled on by the current federal administration.
Ah, WakeMeWhenIt’sOver, your comment is a masterclass in missing the point—because clearly, questioning underage kids is a crime unless you’re starring in your own conspiracy drama. Labeling “Justin” and “Jason” as pathetic bros is peak intellectual rigor, and praising a coach as a civil liberties hero? That’s like hiring the school janitor to defend the Constitution. Thanks for the comedy, but maybe next time try facts instead of fantasy.
Funny 🙂
Why weren’t you or his father there watching the game?
Please read the article before commenting. It was a batting practice for middle schoolers. I wouldn’t go watch my kids batting practice either.
Unless you are your son are here illegally, why would you worry about anything? Stop the never ending whining.
ICE was at Amsterdam and 87 tonight outside Amelie- anyone have details on what happened?
Excellent!
Really gross
They were heading to Fairway also.
Great news!
Consider a few of the schools of thought represented here: First, there are those who believe that, if events occurred as reported, the ICE agents were in the right and should not have faced any resistance. Second are those who accept that armed, masked men wearing ICE insignia were questioning the kids but who doubt they were actual ICE agents. Third, we have those who question whether the events reported occurred at all; i.e., those who are calling Mr. Wilder (or Mr. Saltonstall) a liar.
It behooves those in camp #1 to explain what in the U.S. Constitution they believe justifies such behavior. And assuming it CAN be justified on Constitutional grounds (I for one say it can’t), is demanding that children always carry around their “papers” and present them on demand, and, should their documentation prove unsatisfactory, subjecting them to detention and possible deportation without due process — to countries to which they have no connection whatsoever — the sort of America its founders envisioned or that you yourself advocate? Further, even if you believe EVERY immigrant should be sent packing, should legal, natural-born U.S. citizens also endure such bullying? How is this not a police state?
A few questions for those in camp #2: If the men were not ICE agents, does it bother you at all that imposters were interacting with kids as reported? Was it a good thing? Is this how it’s supposed to work in America? Did the masking policy maybe have anything to do with the booming phenomenon of phony ICE agents committing various crimes? Is this just acceptable collateral damage?
To those in camp #3: Does it shock you that Americans in 2025 are so easily cowed into not photographing (supposed) authority figures, no matter how questionable their actions? Would you have done differently? And if you do have the courage of your convictions, would you be willing to use your real names on your aspersions against the veracity of Wilder (or Saltonstall)? (It might facilitate the libel action!)
Of course there are several other schools of thought on the matter, but I have no questions for their adherents at the moment: I trust they oppose jackbooted thuggery.
i don’t live on the Upper West Side but i often read the Rag because it is a good slice of local news and there are some parallels with my Brooklyn neighborhood. But when I read some of egregious nasty comments i am relieved we dont have anything comparable. Would not want to know if my neighbors hold these attitudes that you summarize above. Of course these commenters may not live on the UWS or even NYC.
I’m convinced the more egregious nasty commentors don’t live on the UWS either (some have admitted to this) or at least its a probably a small number of individuals commenting under multiple names.
Do we know for sure that they were actually ICE agents? Wouldn’t be the first time people have portrayed an authority.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/02/04/us/ice-impersonators-on-the-rise-arrests-made-as-authorities-issue-national-warning
ICE should be focusing on all the Illegals in Times Square wearing stupid costumes and harassing tourists.
If the “Illegals”, ahem, with or without “stupid” costumes, are harassing tourists, isn’t that a job for the NYPD — or have they abdicated that responsibility?
It’s a wonder we still have any tourists in Times Square! (Do we? I haven’t been through there in a while.)
An object lesson in the difference one person’s resistance can make, as well as the need for all if us to be well-informed about the law. This guy’s a real hero!
These children – who are all of color and children of immigrants – tend not to live in this part of the UWS.
All these UWS “progressives” who are condemning ICE do not live with people like these kids or have much interaction with them.
As long as illegal immigrants live in another part of town liberals are quick to condemn ICE and its tactics. Once they move to the tonier parts of town – as what happened when a shelter for Venezuelans was set up on West 70th Street – UWS “progressives” show their true colors.
Ugh…sounds like no Westy to me. Because if you were you’d know about the diversity of the people in this neighborhood due to its rich cultural educational and professional backgrounds mixed with various economic housing solutions (ie the Amsterdam houses a couple blocks from this field as well as both private & public schools that draw students from a cornucopia of backgrounds & economic status). Families here for well over a century and those bussed here last year.
Maybe if you brought a few meals to seniors in the neighborhood or helped giving out grocery donation’s Wednesday on 86th Street, etc you’d get a better idea about who lives here and what we are like as a community.
Not that I consider myself in the ‘progressive’ camp but that’s just incorrect, I live very close to that shelter and it was totally fine beyond the usual griping on the WSR comment boards.
Agree that Youman Wilder is a hero. And people scoff when I tell them we’re living in a police state.
It’s embarrassing that we have elected officials resisting immigration enforcement, and saying that doing so is justified because someone “knows the law”.
First, anyone here illegally is breaking the law. So there’s that. Just a fact. You may not like it, but it’s true.
Moreover, we’re within 100 miles of the US border. Per the ACLU, the government has the power to make warrantless stops for immigration enforcement within that zone. If you are a legal immigrant over age 18, you are required to carry your immigration documents at all times. It is *advisable* to show those documents, or yes, you risk being arrested.
You, personally, don’t have to answer questions because of the 4th amendment, but a baseball coach has no “right” to interfere with law enforcement. Baseball coaches are not members of the executive or judicial branches of government.
So yes, folks: do learn the law. You might find out that your beliefs are actually wrong. It might also save you from being arrested…unlike jumping into the middle of a situation that you do not understand, which might do the opposite.
First, being in the USA without the correction documentation is not illegal, it is a civil offense provided you have not been already formally deported from the USA.
A baseball coach most certainly has a right to question authorities approaching his charges.
How dare you trigger woke Upper West Side virtue-signalers with unassailable facts!
“we’re within 100 miles of the US border”
What am I missing here?
Three guesses but you’ll only need one. It contains the word “Ocean.”
The ocean border doesn’t count.
We’ve seen the likes of ICE before.
The Palmer Raids were a series of raids conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1919 and 1920, targeting suspected radicals, especially anarchists and communists, in the wake of World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution. These raids, led by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, aimed to arrest and deport these individuals, fueled by a fear of communist and socialist influence in the United States, known as the “Red Scare”.
The raids primarily targeted immigrants, especially those from Eastern Europe and Russia, who were suspected of communist or anarchist affiliations.
The raids were often conducted without warrants, with agents arresting individuals at public meetings and gatherings.
Thousands of people were arrested and held, with many subsequently deported to Russia or other countries. Edgar Hoover, then a young Justice Department lawyer, played a key role in gathering intelligence and identifying suspected radicals.
The Palmer Raids were widely criticized for violating civil liberties, including freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and due process.
While initially supported by many, the raids faced growing criticism from civil liberties groups and legal scholars who questioned the legality and morality of the actions.
The Palmer Raids are remembered as a dark chapter in American history, highlighting the dangers of fear-mongering and the erosion of civil liberties during times of perceived national crisis.
Absolute hero, great example of resistance!
Agree, these ICE agents are true heroes
Ask to see their badge. Ask if they have a NY state or city carry permit for their weapon. This is not a drill.
They are federal law enforcement they don’t need a gun permit.
The coach is a hero. It could’ve gotten so much worse for everyone involved. They are bounty hunters. We are in a bad place in this country.
This is shameful. Kudos to Coach Wilder for standing up to ICE. Embarrassed to be American these days.
Margaret Kane
I am proud to be an American.
Have you no shame! I am embarrassed to belong to a nation in which the majority of the people, many of whom claim to support law & order, elected a convicted felon who led an insurrection and pardoned those who attacked the Capitol Police.
I have good friends who applied for a green card, and have been waiting, quite literally, for years because of the absolutely unhinged border situation under previous administrations. My friends can’t leave. They can’t visit family. They are tied to their job – God forbid they get laid off! All for being good people who did *everything* by the book.
So you know what? I have very little sympathy for people who jumped the fence – and the line – and are now facing deportation. Do I wish the current administration was more circumspect in how they pursue the matter sometimes? Yes. But it is nowhere near my top concern.
If you snuck into the country, you can be deported. That is exactly as it should be, and I’m proud to live in a country that is finally getting serious about this problem.
I am close to a couple applying for green cards in order to enter the US legally. I do not support those who break the law, whether it is to enter the US illegally, to lead an insurrection to overthrow the results of the 2020 election, to use Gestapo tactics to grab people off the street under the guise of law enforcement, etc., etc., etc. Once upon a time, there was something called “due process”; Quaint as that may be, I still support it.
I share your feelings. I cringe when going through passport control and having to identify my home country as the United States. If only we could identify it as it is, “The Disunited States.” .
Thank you, coach.
From Vox, a very left-wing publication. Obama deported way more people than Trump has, and the Left didn’t say a peep.
https://www.vox.com/politics/416901/trump-mass-deportation-obama-border-raids-ice
The left certainly did make a peep, they called Obama the deporter in chief!
But as Leigh states quite accurately, its not just the numbers that people are upset about, its that ICE is not following protocols, they are arbitrarily cancelling status of people here legally and deporting people to a concentration camp in El Salvador. Genuinely evil behavior.
But it’s not about the number of people being deported. It’s about HOW they’re being deported. They’re currently arresting people at immigration/asylum hearings; people with future court dates where judges have determined they have a right to continue to present their case. People are being denied access to lawyers and their right to due process. That’s the issue (not to mention the conditions at the detention centers).
The article you cite specifically mentions how the Obama administration followed “formal immigration procedures,” which is not what’s happening now.
So if the Trump administration was following “formal immigration procedures”, the Left and the typical UWSer would be fine with it? I highly doubt that!
The perception (right or wrong) that “the opposition will complain even if we do this according to legal protocols” is not justification for flaunting legal protocols.
That’s exactly what I said during the 4 years that Biden flaunted legal protocols by keeping the border wide open. You and I think alike!
Sigh, its just the opposite. Like it or not the asylum process that migrants were using to enter the country under Biden IS the legal protocol. Dems tried (belatedly) to tighten the restrictions but at the behest of then-candidate Trump, Republicans blocked the bipartisan bill.
I don’t believe him. Where is the proof? Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Thank god for this coach. We need more people like him.
I just came here for the inevitable OPOD trainwreck and it didn’t disappoint
I just came here for the inevitable monolithic, obedient groupthink that UWSers display, and it didn’t disappoint
I’ll be here all week, try the veal.
Probably detectives from the local precinct looking for someone. Paranoia is something!!
This story is different from the one Rosenthal reported. In hers, the agents demanded citizenship papers and the coach refused because ICE didn’t have a warrant. Since no one carries citizenship papers and law enforcement doesn’t need a warrant to talk to people, I presumed it was fake ICE or a fake story, and believe that Rosenthal should have reacted similarly. This version of the story is more plausible (though still a bit odd) and I applaud the WSR for trying to confirm whether the agents were real.
Were they real ? If not who were they?
What would the UWS do if all their Nannies and Gardeners get sent back where they belong? 😉
Just wondering the same thing about workers at golf clubs and famous biggly Florida resorts?!
“It’s all about civics. If you don’t know your rights, they will trample on them.”
I have always commented about the lack of civic education in our schools. It should be a matter of policy to include civics education in our curriculums. Now we have a palpable use case for it.
So fake. No parents with cameras watching the game/practice?
Justin go put your head in the ground!
I cannot believe that anyone is defending ICE in this situation. This is police state tactics. If they have a legal warrant, execute it. Everyone residing in this country has a right to a trial. And everyone needs to confront ICE before they become the next targets
“Police state tactics” (n): enforcing the law, as would be done by police.
Etymology: UpperWestSide-ese, possibly Rachel Maddow, ca 2025.
“Police state” (n.): “A totalitarian state run by means of a national police force, using repressive methods such as covert surveillance and arbitrary arrest and imprisonment to control the population.” Source: Oxford English Dictionary (http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/146832). (Police-state tactics: the tactics used by a police state.)
The OED traces the phrase back to 1851, when it was used in reference to the national police force of the Austrian Empire in the age of Metternich.
Oh, and Rachel Maddow had occasion to talk about the Amerikan police state at least as far back as 2004, during the reign of G.W. “Grandson of Prescott” Bush. Remember?
If they were real be afraid..I they were NOT real be very very afraid
This has to stop. This was going to happen after the original mob didn’t know how to do it. So what the mob did was to send their kids to college to do what is going on now!!!
“Educated mob”
(By the way, these are the mob parents that paid-off Colleges/Universities to get their mob kids a college degree, hello! “Donald Trump”!!!!!)
…..And as for “ICE”
This TRUMP’s “Schutzstaffel”, or SS, that was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, which was initially formed as Hitler’s personal bodyguard unit. Over time, it became a powerful and feared organization responsible for various functions, including political, police, and military operations.
The time is to act now to prevent this to happen!!!
People you have to wake up!!!!
Great interview on MSNBC.
Youman Wilder brought me to tears. I’m disgusted that my fellow citizens did not join him in speaking truth to power and Constitution to thug ICE representatives. This illegal behavior by ICE needs to STOP. Trump needs to honor his oath to PROTECT and DEFEND the Constitution and demand these things STOP stomping on the Constitution of the USA. YOUMAN – you are a hero. God bless you, man.
The Westside coach Youman Wilder was all over CNN today! (Monday)
These agents, or whoever they are, are trampling all over people’s rights, because this is what their higher-ups have instructed them to do…..they need to face lawsuits for their behavior!!!!
Thank you coach Wilder. We need more people like you.