A Lewiston soccer club is rallying support for a member of the team who was recently detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Malunda Destino was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He was a starting defender for Lewiston’s Maine Legends FC, a semi-professional soccer club. (Photo courtesy of Manuel Vemba)
Malunda Destino, who is from Angola, is currently in ICE custody at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts, jail officials said.
Destino, 24, has been playing for Lewiston’s Maine Legends FC, a semi-professional club, for about two years and is “one of the best players,” the team’s captain, Manuel Vemba, said in a phone interview Thursday. He said Destino most recently lived in Portland.
Destino was arrested on Aug. 20 in Scarborough during an operation by ICE agents from Boston, said James Covington, a spokesperson for the federal agency. According to ICE, Destino came into contact with Border Patrol agents in September 2022 “after he illegally entered” the U.S. near El Paso, Texas.
Destino was ordered to be removed from the country by a Boston immigration judge on Aug. 11, 2023, according to the immigration court’s database. Destino appealed that decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals on Aug. 16, 2023. He will be held in ICE custody pending the outcome of those proceedings, Covington said.
Destino’s attorney, David Spitzer, said in a phone interview Thursday that while he just received the case and doesn’t have all the details, it’s usually rare for people who have pending appeals to be picked up by ICE. He said ICE apprehensions can be alarming to the community and give people distrust in law enforcement.
Vemba said the soccer team, Maine Legends FC, which competes in the second-tier division of the national United Premier Soccer League, misses Destino’s presence on the field.
“We want him to be back to his family and back to the community and, of course, back to what he loves to do, which is playing soccer,” Vemba said.
Destino was a starting defender on the team and also volunteered to coach the club’s youth teams, specifically the team for 10- to 13-year-olds, Vemba said.
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Vemba, who is the head coach of the youth teams, said Destino often drove to Lewiston from Portland to assist with practices and share “his knowledge and expertise in soccer.”
“This is a young man, a friend, a role model detained and separated from the life and community he helped build,” the team posted in a statement on social media Monday. “We’re thinking of you every day, and we won’t stop speaking your name until you’re back where you belong on the field, with your team, and in your community.”
A GoFundMe campaign organized by the club, which is collecting money to support Destino’s family and pregnant girlfriend, had raised more than $4,000 as of Thursday afternoon.
Dirigo Union, a group of independent fans of the Hearts of Pine soccer team, posted a statement on social media encouraging members to donate to the campaign.
“We want to be clear: Immigrants are a valuable and respected part of our soccer community,” the group said in the statement. “We stand steadfast in our solidarity with Maine Legends FC and Malunda’s family as they navigate this difficult time, and we will do what we can to support them using our platform and connection through soccer. Everyone deserves to feel safe, be with family, and build the life they want here in Maine.”
Vemba said seeing support from the community has been impactful for him and the other players.
“We need to be together no matter what,” he said. “It’s one nation under God, so if your neighbor needs help, you just give your hands. That’s what we’ve been doing and that’s why everybody’s so supportive of him. He’s part of the community.”
