On July 3, Johan Sandoval, a 22-year-old Savannah State University baseball star on a full athletic scholarship, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside his girlfriend’s apartment in Clifton Park, New York. Federal officials said Sandoval’s student visa was terminated in April 2025 and that he had “failed to adhere” to its requirements, a 15-month gap between the visa action and the arrest that his family and his university say they cannot yet explain. He is now held at ICE’s Buffalo Service Processing Center, per the agency’s online detainee locator system, pending federal removal proceedings. The detention of an HBCU baseball standout in the middle of a summer-league season drew immediate attention from his school, his family, and the wider HBCU community.
His girlfriend, U.S. citizen Adriana Wade, 21, told The Current GA’s full reporting on the arrest that Sandoval ran back inside her apartment to alert her and her mother when agents blocked his car. She said the scene was heated and that agents “were very angry and loud about his detainment and had broken his phone completely in the process.” A GoFundMe his family launched on Sunday had raised more than $12,000 toward legal fees as of Monday, per WTOC.
The Morning Agents Came to the Apartment
On Friday morning, July 3, Sandoval was leaving the apartment complex for the gym when ICE agents stopped him and blocked his car, Wade said. He ran back inside to tell Wade and her mother what was happening, she said, and the agents followed him to the front door. “They were very angry and loud about his detainment and had broken his phone completely in the process,” Wade, 21, told The Current GA. Sandoval presented all his documents, she added, but lost his state ID during the encounter. He has called Wade and family members twice a day to confirm he is okay since the arrest, she said.
Sandoval is being held at ICE’s Buffalo Service Processing Center under his full legal name, Johan Efrain Sandoval Rodriguez, The Current GA reported. He is reachable twice a day by phone through the facility, Wade said. “He wants everyone to be strong for him and he said he’s trying to be strong as well,” she added. The detention comes more than a year after federal officials moved to terminate his student visa, per a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson.
His sisters Stacey and Melissa Sandoval have become the public voices of his family since the arrest. Stacey told WTOC that the family does not yet have “the full scope of where the lapse or what happened in regards to his transfers to the universities.” News of the arrest was “devastating” for relatives back in the Dominican Republic, Stacey said, and “very jarring,” because everything he had worked for had come to “a crashing halt.” Melissa, who has spoken to her brother from the detention center, told WTOC he “choked up a little bit” when she told him about the fundraising effort. His sister Stacey noted he has had “a passion for baseball” since he was a little boy. “That has always been his dream,” she said.
A Star at Savannah State
At Savannah State, Sandoval had built a roster of academic and athletic accomplishments that defined his college years. He was pursuing a bachelor of business administration in management, was expected to graduate next year, and competed on a full athletic scholarship confirmed by One SSU, an independent media and advocacy outlet for the university. He was the only Tigers player to start all 47 games of the team’s 2026 season, according to the university.
Sandoval earned All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors in 2025 and 2026, a back-to-back recognition for a player who transferred to SSU in 2024 after completing his associate’s degree at Bryant & Stratton College in New York. Last month he represented the Tigers at the HBCU Baseball All-Star Game in Kannapolis, North Carolina, where he was named Most Valuable Player. HBCU GameDay’s breakdown of his season noted that he hit .425 during the 2023-24 season and posted a .369 batting average with 65 hits, 51 runs batted in and 21 stolen bases in 2026. One signature moment came during the SIAC Tournament, when he hit a go-ahead two-run home run against Morehouse to advance Savannah State. His sister Melissa wrote on the family’s fundraiser that he has been “the first generation in our family to achieve many of his dreams through higher education.”
Johan Sandoval’s 2026 Savannah State stats
- .369 batting average
- 65 hits
- 55 runs scored
- 51 runs batted in
- 15 doubles
- 4 triples
- 5 home runs
- 21 stolen bases
- 47 for 47 games started
Off the field, Sandoval completed ROTC leadership training at Savannah State and volunteered within the local community, his sister said. Stacey noted that he is the only one of his seven siblings without U.S. citizenship, a fact that adds weight to the visa action that preceded his arrest. He had been playing for a summer league in Albany when ICE took him into custody, WTOC reported. His girlfriend wrote that he dreamed about playing baseball professionally since he was 3 years old.
That record is what makes the federal account of his detention harder to sit with. The Department of Homeland Security does not dispute that Sandoval had built a successful college career. The spokesperson’s account of how the arrest went, however, differs sharply from Wade’s.
Where the Government’s Account Diverges
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in an email to The Current GA that ICE arrested Sandoval during “a targeted enforcement operation.” The spokesperson said Sandoval first entered the United States on a nonimmigrant student visa in 2022 and “subsequently failed to adhere to the requirements of his student visa, which was terminated in April 2025.” “As ICE officers executed the arrest of Sandoval-Rodriguez, he tried to flee on foot,” the spokesperson wrote. “ICE officers reacted with appropriate actions to complete the arrest without further incident.” The spokesperson added that Sandoval will remain in custody “pending removal proceedings,” the court process that decides whether he can remain in the United States.
They were very angry and loud about his detainment and had broken his phone completely in the process.
Wade, 21, Sandoval’s girlfriend and a U.S. citizen, told The Current GA a different version of what unfolded at the apartment complex. She said Sandoval was leaving for the gym when ICE agents stopped him and blocked his car, then ran back inside to warn her and her mother, while agents followed him to the front door. The scene was heated, Wade said, and Sandoval lost his state ID during the encounter. The government’s framing of his movement as “trying to flee on foot” reads differently from her description of a player running inside to tell his family what was happening. ICE has otherwise declined to detail why it moved on the case in early July rather than at any earlier point in the year after the April 2025 visa termination.
For his family, the government’s account is at least half a story. Stacey Sandoval told WTOC that the family does not yet have “the full scope of where the lapse or what happened in regards to his transfers to the universities.” The GoFundMe page, organized by his sister and titled “Help Bring Johan Home to Finish His Final Year of College,” said issues arose concerning his “F-1 student status” after transfers between schools and did not specify what the alleged lapses were. The page does state explicitly: “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.”
The University’s Federal Privacy Wall
Savannah State University has refused to publicly detail its knowledge of Sandoval’s case, citing federal privacy law. LeAndrea Mikell, the assistant vice president for government and community relations, told The Current GA by email that administrators “are unable to share information regarding current or former students due to federal privacy laws and university policy.” The school’s athletics department told the same outlet it was “still gathering information” and unable to comment. WTOC reported that ICE had not responded to its questions about the case.
SSU President Dr. Jermaine Whirl has nevertheless engaged behind the scenes. In a statement to WJCL 22 News and One SSU, the school’s president said he “is aware and has been working with his family and immigration attorney from the beginning.” Melissa Sandoval told WTOC that Whirl had emphasized his respect for Johan as a student-athlete, that the player had carried the Tigers proudly on and off the field, and that he is “an important member of the community.” The family’s account frames the school’s involvement as supportive without revealing what, if anything, the institution knew about his visa status while he was enrolled. He had been preparing to graduate next year with a bachelor of business administration in management. The institution’s public silence leaves the legal fight in the hands of an outside attorney and the federal immigration courts.
A Pattern Hitting HBCU Campuses
Sandoval’s arrest is the third high-profile ICE case to hit an HBCU community in a year, after the 2025 detentions of Morehouse graduate Alex Maganda and former Coppin State Olympian Dr. Ian Andre Roberts. HBCU GameDay reported that “publicly reported ICE detentions involving active HBCU student-athletes have been uncommon,” a framing the case at Savannah State fits uncomfortably. The pattern comes as federal authorities have ramped up enforcement activity. The Associated Press reported that ICE arrests climbed in June to roughly 39,000, after settling around 30,000 per month since February, and ABC News reported that immigration authorities’ new reported goal is to arrest at least 2,000 people per day.
Maganda was detained by ICE in 2025 after a traffic stop in Texas, following the expiration of his DACA protections. Roberts, a former Coppin State student who went on to become a school superintendent and Olympian, was detained by federal immigration authorities that same year. The three cases differ in circumstance and legal posture, but they share a backdrop of heightened enforcement that HBCU alumni networks have rallied around.
| Name | School affiliation | Year | Circumstances at detention |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johan Sandoval | Savannah State (active student-athlete) | 2026 | Stopped outside a Clifton Park, NY apartment; visa terminated April 2025 |
| Alex Maganda | Morehouse (graduate) | 2025 | Traffic stop in Texas after DACA protections expired |
| Dr. Ian Andre Roberts | Coppin State (alumnus, Olympian) | 2025 | Federal detention |
Sandoval’s case is the first in the recent run to involve a current, scholarship-supported student-athlete whose college career was mid-flight when ICE came for him. Unlike Maganda, who was already a graduate, Sandoval was still a rising senior with one year left before his planned graduation. Unlike Roberts, who had already moved into a public role, Sandoval was working through a summer-league assignment in Albany when he was detained. The relative rarity is part of what makes the case distinctive, HBCU GameDay noted.
The family’s case starts with the April 2025 termination date. “We don’t really have the full scope of where the lapse or what happened in regards to his transfers to the universities,” Stacey Sandoval told WTOC. The family-launched fundraiser, organized to bring Johan home and finish his final year of college, lays out plans for an immigration bond, an attorney, court filings and basic necessities while the case is pending. More than $12,000 had been donated as of Monday, WTOC reported.
What “Removal Proceedings” Now Decide
Removal proceedings are the federal court process that decides whether a non-citizen may remain in the United States. The DHS spokesperson said Sandoval will stay in custody while his case proceeds. ICE has not publicly confirmed any of the circumstances around his arrest beyond the DHS statement, and WJCL reported that “ICE has not publicly confirmed the circumstances surrounding the reported detention.” A hearing before an immigration judge is typically the next step. The case can include requests for relief from removal, including bond hearings, depending on the facts and the individual’s immigration history.
Three things remain unclear: when Sandoval will see a judge, what relief his attorney may seek, and whether the family’s lawyers will contest the visa termination. The April 2025 termination, more than a year before his arrest, raises obvious questions about why federal officers moved on his case when they did. His family and Savannah State say they are still building the public record. The school’s silence under federal privacy law means only Wade’s interview, his sisters’ press accounts, and the DHS statement are on the public record today. The lawyer the family is working with has not been named publicly, and ICE has offered no further explanation of how the April 2025 paper termination became a July arrest in New York.
What the public campaign can do, his family says, is keep the legal machine running while the courts take their time. The GoFundMe lays out five uses for the donations: an immigration bond if one is granted, an immigration attorney, court filing fees and USCIS application costs, the legal proceedings themselves, and basic necessities while his case is pending. “Any funds remaining after these immediate needs will be used exclusively to support Johan’s education and legal process,” the page states. As of Monday, more than $12,000 had been raised, per WTOC. The next move belongs to a federal immigration judge whose calendar has not yet been set.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Johan Sandoval?
Johan Sandoval is a 22-year-old native of the Dominican Republic and a rising senior at Savannah State University on a full athletic scholarship, listed as a second baseman. He earned All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors in 2025 and 2026 and was named Most Valuable Player of the HBCU Baseball All-Star Game in Kannapolis, North Carolina, last month, per HBCU GameDay.
Why was he detained by ICE?
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told The Current GA that Sandoval’s student visa was terminated in April 2025 and that he had “failed to adhere” to its requirements. His sister Stacey Sandoval told WTOC that the family does not yet have “the full scope of where the lapse or what happened in regards to his transfers to the universities.”
Where is he being held?
He is held at ICE’s Buffalo Service Processing Center in New York, according to the agency’s online detainee locator system, listed under his full name Johan Efrain Sandoval Rodriguez. He has called his girlfriend and family members twice a day to confirm his wellbeing, his girlfriend said.
What are “removal proceedings”?
Removal proceedings are the federal court process that decides whether a non-citizen may remain in the United States. The DHS spokesperson said Sandoval will remain in custody while his case proceeds. Hearings before an immigration judge typically follow, with possible requests for relief including bond hearings.
How can people help his legal defense?
His sister and her family launched a GoFundMe titled “Help Bring Johan Home to Finish His Final Year of College,” with donations covering an immigration bond if one is granted, an attorney, court filing fees and basic necessities while his case is pending. As of Monday, more than $12,000 had been raised, according to WTOC.
His sister Stacey told WTOC that the family is “still trying to be as optimistic as possible” and that they “still think . . . he’s still going to go back to school.”
