Washington Post immigration reporter Maria Sacchetti faced swift criticism after suggesting that President Donald Trump’s immigration policies could have endangered Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Junior Alvarado, a legal immigrant from Venezuela.
Sacchetti posted on social media: “Trump officials, who have sought to expel hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, are celebrating the victory of Sovereignty at the Kentucky Derby. Sovereignty’s jockey, Junior Alvarado, is an immigrant from Venezuela.”
Critics pointed out that Alvarado is a legal immigrant, and Trump’s deportation policies target individuals in the country illegally, particularly those with criminal records. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon responded, “In America, legal immigrants are awesome and many serve in the Trump administration. I am one. Junior Alvarado is leading in sports. Many like Elon change the world. Stop conflating law-abiding citizens with criminal gangbangers, drug dealers, and human traffickers. We see you.”
Media analyst Joe Concha added, “Great story, Maria. So the entire (dishonest) implication of your premise is that he entered the country illegally and Alvarado is now at risk of being deported. Except he came here legally. The ‘hundreds of thousands’ of Venezuelans Trump is seeking to expel entered illegally.”
Immigration attorney Laura Powell criticized the conflation of legal and illegal immigrants, stating, “This article, shared by a Washington Post reporter, conflates illegal immigrants, foreigners with legal guest visas, and Latinos as a whole to pretend that cracking down on illegal immigration would exclude jockeys. An immigration attorney quoted in the article confirms there’s been no problem obtaining visas for foreign jockeys.”
The incident highlights the ongoing debate over immigration policy and the importance of distinguishing between legal and illegal immigration in public discourse.
