Washington Post immigration reporter Maria Sacchetti earned herself a wave of backlash when she attempted to use Saturday’s Kentucky Derby winner — Sovereignty, ridden by Venezuelan immigrant Junior Alvarado — as a cudgel with which to dishonestly attack President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies on illegal immigration and mass deportation.
Sacchetti, like so many others in broadcast and print media, conflated Alvarado — a legal immigrant from Venezuela — with the millions of illegal immigrants in the United States, suggesting that it Trump was allowed to continue deporting criminal illegals, Alvarado and others like him would be among them.
“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,” Sacchetti posted via X.
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. pic.twitter.com/vbGAGh7GS3
— Maria Sacchetti (@mariasacchetti) May 4, 2025
Critics quickly pointed out the fact that Alvarado was in the United States legally — and Trump’s deportation policies were aimed primarily at those who were not only in the country illegally but had also committed additional crimes since their arrival.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon posted, “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.”
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. https://t.co/LX32GXPQwO
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@HarmeetKDhillon) May 4, 2025
“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,” Joe Concha added. “The ‘hundreds of thousands’ of Venezuelans Trump is seeking to expel entered illegally.”
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. https://t.co/0lJPgGMOPn
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) May 4, 2025
“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. I think these people actually believe their own propaganda,” Laura Powell said.
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… https://t.co/JGL9otuuUA pic.twitter.com/r8z2tC2BTu
— Laura Powell (@LauraPowellEsq) May 4, 2025
“This woman is allegedly an immigration ‘reporter’ for the Washington Post and does not understand the difference between LEGAL immigrants and ILLEGAL immigrants,” Abigail Jackson posted.
This woman is allegedly an immigration “reporter” for the Washington Post and does not understand the difference between LEGAL immigrants and ILLEGAL immigrants. https://t.co/RfT6AWoMbN
— Abigail Jackson 🇺🇸 (@abigailmarone) May 4, 2025
“I wonder if she understands that her assertion demonstrates that Trump supporters don’t hate people because of their ethnicity but instead want illegal aliens gone regardless,” Kurt Schlicter added.
I wonder if she understands that her assertion demonstrates that Trump supporters don’t hate people because of their ethnicity but instead want illegal aliens gone regardless https://t.co/dcpNlC7BAM
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) May 4, 2025
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