Even though Wander Franco was spared prison time in the Dominican Republic, don\u2019t expect the former Tampa Bay Rays shortstop to make a return to Major League Baseball.<\/p>\n
A judge in the D.R. on Monday found Franco \u201ccriminally responsible\u201d for abusing a minor, though he was granted a judicial pardon because the court also considered him a \u201cvictim\u201d of extortion and blackmail. But multiple legal experts believe that distinction won\u2019t matter when it comes to Franco being allowed back into the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no way the Department of State will give this man a visa,\u201d said immigration attorney Amy Maldonado, whose clients include several MLB teams. \u201c\u2026 The only way he\u2019d ever have gotten a visa again is if he\u2019d been found innocent, and it was compelling evidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that he\u2019s guilty of sexual abuse of a minor, he\u2019s done. He\u2019s never getting into the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maldonado added that her perspective has nothing to do with the current presidential administration\u2019s hardline immigration policies, stating that \u201cany other administration would not approve this visa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Franco last played for the Rays in August 2023, when he was first accused of having an illegal relationship with a 14-year-old girl. The girl\u2019s mother received a 10-year prison sentence in this case for charges related to trafficking her daughter. The judge said her actions in blackmailing Franco made him a victim.<\/p>\n
Franco was initially convicted last June and given a two-year suspended sentence. However, an appeals court ordered a retrial, which resulted in Monday\u2019s verdict.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe court granted Franco a judicial pardon for the particular circumstances that placed him as a victim from a material standpoint, though not a legal one,\u201d said the presiding judge, Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00f3n N\u00fa\u00f1ez.<\/p>\n
Franco is on baseball\u2019s restricted list, and not currently being paid out his 11-year, $182 million contract with the Rays. Notably, he\u2019s not on the restricted list for his conduct, but rather because he cannot legally enter the United States and is unavailable to fulfil the terms of his contract.<\/p>\n
MLB could still complete its open investigation into Franco, whose full sentencing will take place on June 16, at which point the league will have a better sense of what its next steps, if any, will be.<\/p>\n
An MLB spokesperson said the league is \u201caware of (Monday\u2019s) verdict in the Wander Franco trial and will conclude our investigation at the appropriate time.\u201d The league declined further comment.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not coming back to the United States,\u201d said immigration attorney Charles Kuck, noting that judicial pardon wouldn\u2019t be relevant if Franco re-applied for a visa. \u201cWe don\u2019t recognize foreign pardons. The only pardons that matter are from the president.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maldonado said that Franco could apply for a 212(d)(3) waiver, which is often the mechanism for immigrants to re-enter the U.S. if they have a previous deportation and\/or conviction.\u00a0 But, Maldonado said, \u201cyou have to basically show that, on balance, you are a net benefit,\u201d and the government weighs multiple factors in determining eligibility for a visa.<\/p>\n
\u201cConviction of a sex crime against a child,\u201d Maldonado said. \u201cYeah, you\u2019re done. It\u2019s never going to happen. No consular officer is ever going to recommend that.\u201d<\/p>\n
California-based immigration attorney Adrian Uribe agreed that it\u2019s very unlikely that Franco would ever be allowed back in the United States, but didn\u2019t rule out that Franco could at least make an argument for re-entry.<\/p>\n
He noted that if Franco were to make an effort to re-acquire a visa, his attorney would likely argue the ambiguity of him being held \u201ccriminally responsible\u201d rather than convicted outright.<\/p>\n
If he\u2019s found criminally responsible by a judge, but that judge refuses to convict him, Uribe said, whether by a pardon or other means, that could be the basis of an argument.<\/p>\n
When asked if the Rays would prefer to remove Franco from the roster entirely, given the case\u2019s finality, the team declined to answer, but provided a written statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Tampa Bay Rays are aware of today\u2019s ruling in the Dominican Republic involving Wander Franco. We respect the legal process and the decision issued by the court. This is a serious matter, and our thoughts remain with those affected by the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Rays will continue to cooperate fully with Major League Baseball as it completes its review under the league\u2019s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. Out of respect for the legal process and all parties involved, we will have no further comment at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Even though Wander Franco was spared prison time in the Dominican Republic, don\u2019t expect the former Tampa Bay…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":697026,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82,480],"class_list":["post-697025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports","tag-tampa-bay-rays"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=697025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}