Kentucky
A judge said it was unsafe for a KY teen to return to Guatemala. ICE detained him anyway
Trump orders ICE more illegal immigration deportations in LA, Chicago
President Trump ordered ICE to deliver “the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History” by expanding operations in cities led by Democrats.
A Kentucky teen has returned home after more than 20 days in federal custody, despite his status as a special juvenile immigrant awaiting a visa.
Ernesto Manuel-Andres, 18, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in a June 4 raid alongside his father at their apartment complex in Bowling Green, according to a local advocate familiar with his case.
In the weeks that followed, a stunned community of teachers, friends and supporters held protests, prayers and vigils, calling for Manuel-Andres’s return. They raised over $30,000 for his bond and legal fees through a GoFundMe, and nonprofit organizers drove 11 hours to Louisiana to visit him while he was detained.
On June 23, a Louisiana judge set Manuel-Andres’ bond at $1,500, the lowest legal limit. A day later, he was released.
In a press release from Fugees Family, an Ohio-based nonprofit that partners with school districts to improve education for immigrants, Manuel-Andres said he was “very happy” to be released and thanked those who supported him.
“I’d like to say ‘Thank you for all of it, for prayers, for support, for everything,’” Manuel-Andres wrote.
But despite community support and a previous Kentucky court order advocates say should protect him from deportation, Manuel-Andres’ future is uncertain.
Gabriel Spellberg, one of Manuel-Andres’ lawyers, said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has the option to appeal the bond order within 30 days, and Manuel-Andres could be re-detained if the Board of Immigration Appeals repeals the Louisiana judge’s bond determination.
Here’s what to know about Manuel-Andres’ case so far.
A Catch-22
Advocates for Manuel-Andres said the Guatemalan native has both special immigrant juvenile (SIJ) status and a grant for deferred action by DHS, which should protect him from removal orders while he awaits a visa. SIJ status is only given to those under 18 who have a valid court order proving abuse, abandonment, neglect or another reason it is not in a minor’s best interests to return to their country of nationality or be reunified with one or both parents.
Manuel-Andres was granted SIJ status by a court in Kentucky but was stuck on an ever-growing waiting list for an available visa, which would allow him to apply for his green card. Manuel-Andres was allowed to stay in the country while awaiting the visa due to a deferred action order, which protected him from deportation and removal proceedings.
As of June 6, the DHS rescinded its policy of granting deferred action to those with SIJ status when a visa is not immediately available.
Spellberg said the teen, like others in the SIJ program who are waiting for visas, are in a Catch-22. If they leave the U.S., they’ll automatically lose SIJ status. But without deferred action or a visa, they’re liable to be arrested on immigration charges.
“Now that there’s no safety during your waiting period, it’s almost like what’s the point of the visa?” Spellberg said. “You’re not protecting these vulnerable populations. A state court has to find that it is not in the young person’s, the juvenile’s, best interest to return to their home country. The suggestion that SIJ grantees should have to return home is preposterous.”
Luma Mufleh, CEO of Fugees Family, said Manuel-Andres began the legal process to receive citizenship over a year and a half ago.
“People say, ‘Well, do it the legal way,’” Mufleh said. “He did. He did do it the legal way, and he doesn’t have a criminal record, he doesn’t even have traffic violations, and he’s 18. He’s a kid.”
Spellberg was “thrilled” Manuel-Andres was released but said waiting for an immigration hearing date could take years. In the meantime, Spellberg said the focus on the case will now be finding other forms of relief that Manuel-Andres could be eligible for in order to further prove his case to remain in the U.S.
‘You could feel the love, the concern’
Weeks earlier, Manuel-Andres had walked the stage at graduation. But on June 4, he sat inside a jail cell in Grayson County.
He had been picked up by ICE officers in a raid meant to arrest another man, who advocates for Manuel-Andres said doesn’t reside at the complex. Instead, Manuel-Andres and his father were arrested and moved from one detention facility to another in an effort to “forum shop,” or move them into a district with a judge more favorable to ICE’s cause, Spellberg said.
Back in Bowling Green, those who knew Manuel-Andres were shocked that the kind, respectful student they knew had been taken by ICE. Leslie Perkins, who taught Manuel-Andres and had attended his graduation, said she cried upon hearing the news.
“Anytime we would get a new student in, Ernesto was one of those students I automatically tried to connect that new student with because I knew that Ernesto would be an exemplary student,” Perkins said. “So they would have a great role model, and he would be just kind to them. That’s the kind of student that Ernesto is.”
Perkins said people from across the political spectrum in Bowling Green are coming together to support Manuel-Andres. A welcome home party was held June 25 as Manuel-Andres arrived back in Bowling Green.
“If there’s one bright spot in this whole scenario, it would be that Bowling Green has definitely come out to support Ernesto,” Perkins said. “I’ve attended two protests. I’ve attended a prayer vigil, and all three of those events, you could feel the love, the concern and the support. People really want to get involved and take action to help Ernesto, and not just Ernesto, but to put a spotlight on so many other kids who’re in the same situation that are being illegally detained.”
Reach reporter Keely Doll at kdoll@courierjournal.com.
Entering the weekend, Vanderbilt baseball had gotten swept in its only SEC series in which it hadn’t won the first game.
So the Commodores had a tough task in a series they badly needed after dropping the opener 5-2 on a walk-off grand slam after Vanderbilt’s best healthy starter, Connor Fennell, pitched well.
But the Commodores (24-17, 9-9 SEC) rebounded to take the series with an 8-7 win in the second game and a 13-6 win in the finale April 19. They did that despite not having any pitcher go more than three innings in either game. Though the pitching was still shaky at times — they issued more free passes than strikeouts in both of the wins — they worked out of enough jams to let the offense go to work.
Here’s what we learned from the series.
Will Hampton proves an unlikely hero for the offense
Vanderbilt got strong performances from a few of its typical top performers, including Braden Holcomb (6-for-13, four doubles) and Brodie Johnston (4-for-12, two home runs, three walks). But one of the biggest hits of the series came from the unlikeliest of sources.
Logan Johnstone was held out of the finale after colliding with Mike Mancini in Game 2, and in his place coach Tim Corbin opted to go with redshirt freshman Will Hampton in left field. Hampton had recorded just six college plate appearances, all of which were in nonconference games.
But Hampton reached in all three of his plate appearances against Kentucky, first on a single, then a walk. In the sixth inning, with the score tied, he came up with the bases loaded and two outs and blasted a grand slam, giving Vanderbilt its first lead.
Tyler Baird learns the ups and downs of being a closer
Freshman Tyler Baird has been Vanderbilt’s closer for the past three weeks, recording his first save April 2 against Texas A&M. But he learned the pitfalls that can come with that role in Game 1 against Kentucky. Summoned for an eight-out save with the Commodores leading 2-1, he retired the first five batters, but loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth. He struck out the next two batters but then gave up the walk-off grand slam.
Baird returned for Game 3, this time attempting a five-out save and coming in with runners on first and second and one out with a three-run lead in the eighth inning. He allowed both inherited runners to score, but kept the lead and then had a scoreless ninth inning after Vanderbilt scored three runs in the top of the inning.
Baird’s emergence has been key for the Commodores, and the Game 3 bounce-back was especially important.
Vanderbilt’s RPI shows improvement
On April 15, Vanderbilt was 95th in RPI, a mark that wasn’t going to cut it for NCAA Tournament selection. But with a road series win against a Kentucky team that started the week in the top 20 of RPI, the Commodores moved all the way up to 75th, according to Warren Nolan.
While Vanderbilt will need to keep moving up — a top-50 mark would be ideal — the series win did a lot. In the next two weeks, it will face two top-five RPI teams in Alabama and Texas, giving more opportunity to improve its standing.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.
Power forward has been one of the positions that Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats have to fill with Andrija Jelavic and Mo Dioubate gone. The two players that Pope has had on campus at the power forward position are Syracuse’s Donnie Freeman and Colorado’s Sebastian Rancik. Both are really good players, but Freeman is better by a wide margin.
It has felt that entire time that Kentucky wanted Rancik as the backup to Freeman or a backup plan if they weren’t able to land Freeman. Well, Rancik just picked Florida State, so perhaps this is a sign that the Wildcats will land Freeman.
Big Blue Nation was torn on Rancik, but I do believe he would have been a really solid backup power forward. I personally didn’t want him to be the starting four for this team. It is clear that he wanted to go somewhere where he could be the guy at the four, so he will be heading to the ACC to play for FSU.
Now that Kentucky has missed on Rancik, it is very important that the Wildcats land Freeman soon. The problem with waiting on some of these players is the fact that the portal isn’t slowing down. If Pope targets two power forwards and misses on both of them, most of the good fours in the portal will be gone.
There will be some panic in Lexington if the Wildcats are not able to land Freeman, but I do believe the Wildcats are in a good spot to land the elite power forward. From the beginning, Freeman has been my top player for Kentucky in the portal, as he, plus Malachi Moreno, will give the Wildcats an elite frontcourt.
If Pope is able to land Freeman and Tyran Stokes to pair with Zoom Diallo, Alex Wilkins, Moreno, and Kam Williams, this could be the start of a really good team in Lexington. Hopefully, an announcement for where Freeman will transfer comes soon, and hopefully, this will be to play for Pope at Kentucky.
Fans of rival teams will say Pope “whiffed” on Rancik, but if this whiff was because the Wildcats are set to land Freeman soon, then it was more than worth it for Kentucky. If the Wildcats are able to land Freeman, it will officially be time for Big Blue Nation to start getting excited about the 2026-27 season. I expect a decision from Freeman to come within the next day or two.
Rancik would have been a solid backup four in Lexington but Freeman has been the guy from the beggining for this staff so if Kentucky lands him all is well. If the staff misses on Freeman not landing Rancik will look bad.
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Kentucky
Kentucky is poised to land either Donnie Freeman or Sebastian Rancik this weekend, per report
Jones posted on Twitter that “Kentucky will have (absent a major change) either Freeman or Rancik by tomorrow,” while also noting the Wildcats still need to add another shooter and another big to round out the roster.
One of the top targets is Donnie Freeman, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound sophomore forward transferring from Syracuse. Freeman arrived in Lexington on Tuesday night and began his visit on Wednesday before leaving without a commitment. While there was concern he could land at UConn, that visit has since been canceled, leaving Kentucky and St. John’s as the top teams.
Freeman averaged 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game last season, while adding nearly a block and a steal per contest. He shot 47.4% from the field but 30.2% from 3-point range across 23 games.
The other option is Sebastian Rancik, a 6-foot-11, 220-pound sophomore forward transferring from Colorado. Rancik visited Kentucky starting Wednesday through Thursday and brings a versatile skill set, averaging 12.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game while shooting 33.1% from 3.
Either Freeman or Rancik would provide a significant boost at the power forward position for head coach Mark Pope. Kentucky has already added guards Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins in the portal.
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