The Dodgers had been silent as Trump’s immigration crackdown roiled LA. Then federal agents arrived outside their parking lot
By Natasha Chen and Kyle Feldscher, CNN
Los Angeles (CNN) — As the City of Angels’ first major professional sports team, the Dodgers are a cornerstone of Southern California culture. Their interlocking LA logo is as iconic as the Hollywood sign, recognized around the world and worn as a symbol of pride by millions of Angelenos.
In times of crisis, teams like the Dodgers are usually a rallying point – a unifying force in moments of struggle. But over the last few weeks, as major protests popped up in Los Angeles in response to increased immigration raids by the Trump administration in the Southern California area, the Dodgers became a target of local ire. It was a tough demotion from being the subject of local adoration just months ago during a World Series championship parade.
On June 6, raids outside a Home Depot and an apparel warehouse in Los Angeles set off days of protests and, on some nights, clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement. President Donald Trump on June 7 deployed National Guard troops to the city to “temporarily protect ICE” – the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – “and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal functions” and to protect federal property, according to a memo – overriding California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called the move a “brazen abuse of power.”
Families have been split, people were arrested by plain-clothes agents wearing masks and hats and Trump and his administration reveled in the chance to clash with Democratic politicians. As fear spread throughout Los Angeles, many of the city’s institutions spoke up to defend the undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers who were being picked up by the federal government.
But not the Dodgers. The team – whose stadium itself is part of the long story of the Latino experience in Los Angeles, given that the land on which it sits was once home to a Mexican-American neighborhood that fought for years against being displaced – was publicly quiet about the tension gripping its city.
That silence infuriated many members of the fanbase, who felt abandoned by their team.
“I just feel like the organization, as a whole, needed to say something. The fanbase is predominantly Latinos, and we have been supporting them forever,” said Amanda Carrera, a Dodgers fan who was demonstrating outside of Dodger Stadium on Thursday.
A few dozen people were also protesting as the Dodgers played the San Diego Padres. They shouted to keep “ICE out of LA” and “ICE out of Dodger Stadium.” Many expressed anger toward the Dodger organization for remaining silent on the issue plaguing a core part of their fanbase. “And so why should we keep supporting them if they don’t support us?” Carrera asked. “And, as heartbreaking as it sounds, it’s like we love our team so much and it just feels like they don’t love us.”
A strange day in Chavez Ravine
It was against that backdrop that federal law enforcement arrived just outside the vast Dodger Stadium parking lot on Thursday.
Reports began to circulate that federal agents were present at the stadium outside downtown LA, sparking concerns that the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown was coming to the home of the World Series champions hours before a game against the San Diego Padres. Protesters rushed to the area and began chanting anti-ICE slogans at the federal agents.
In the team’s telling, agents from ICE arrived at Dodger Stadium and asked for permission to access the parking lots. The Dodgers said no.
The Trump administration’s version of what happened is quite different. US Customs and Border Protection vehicles were in a parking lot on the grounds, and one of them had a car malfunction that caused them to stay longer, according to an official who maintained there were no operations related to the MLB franchise.
There has been an influx of CBP agents in the Los Angeles area on the heels of the protests against Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda. The Department of Homeland Security surged agency personnel to the region, including border agents, to respond to those protests and many have remained in the area.
“This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. CBP vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
The ICE account on X even called out the Dodgers directly, saying their post was false.
“We were never there,” the post read.
Frustration and fear run deep in LA
No matter the agency or their purpose, the appearance of federal agents at Dodger Stadium is enough to create a high-profile event, given the atmosphere that is gripping Los Angeles.
Some businesses have been closing early, with more customers staying home. As the school year wound down, some students wept openly in class, worried about the future of their families. Relatives stayed away from graduation ceremonies, while some nannies chose to stay close to their employers’ homes, only taking the children around the block instead of public parks.
Rumors of where ICE will be or how they’ll be meeting the White House’s demands for more arrests have been rife, not just in LA but around the country. With the FIFA Club World Cup attracting soccer fans to stadiums throughout the US, there have been worries that federal agents could target people coming to the games.
So, when reports of federal agents being outside Dodger Stadium began to circulate on Thursday, protesters flocked to the team’s complex just outside of downtown Los Angeles. Images from the parking lot outside the stadium showed a line of police blocking protesters from being near the large group of unmarked federal law enforcement vehicles that had gathered in the stadium’s expansive concrete apron.
With the White House expecting ICE to arrest 3,000 people per day and Los Angeles-area officials telling the public that they don’t have any idea where federal agents will pop up next, the entire area is on edge.
Carerra said she’s organizing a protest later this week and she hears mixed things about whether people actually want to be in public.
“The community has voted to protest. They want to come out and do it, but I think that there is the other half that’s scared,” she said.
“It’s scary when you see images and videos of people being kidnapped. You know, I mean, ICE agents, unmarked vehicles, masks covering their face. … We don’t even know who to trust. We don’t know, like, are these actually, actual agents or not, you know? So, there’s a lot of fear. It’s horrible. It’s so just heartbreaking.”
That tension meant many fans lashed out at the Dodgers for not having done more to express support for their fans, many of whom are Latino. The replies to the Dodgers’ X account were full of fans demanding the team say something condemning the federal government’s actions or – at the very least – express support for the immigrant community in LA.
Fans demand more from the Dodgers
Al Aguilar, who was standing outside Dodger Stadium with a sign that read “Los Doyers Silent? Silent” on Thursday afternoon, said the team’s history in LA should make it more understanding of the pressure on the community.
He said the Dodgers buying the Chavez Ravine land at a discounted price and the eviction of the final families remaining on the land came with the stipulation that the stadium would be used for the community. He said Latinos largely stayed away from the team until Fernandomania – the debut of Dodger legend Fernando Valenzuela and his subsequent success – in 1981 made fans for life.
That history isn’t forgotten today, he said.
“Nothing was said. They were silent about the issues going on, not even taking sides. They could say, ‘We believe in equal rights, constitutional rights, due process,’ without taking sides, just those things, but they didn’t say anything,” Aguilar told CNN.
He added, “With the amount of Latin American players that they have, with the community being behind them all these years, being (forgiven) – if you were thrown out of your houses and dragged out for a sports franchise that interrupted the community, you might have feelings about that.”
When singer Nezza performed the National Anthem ahead of a game last weekend, as “No Kings” protests were taking place around the nation and LA was enduring another weekend of protests, she decided to do so in Spanish. What sparked more outrage against the Dodgers was the fact that she said a Dodgers employee specifically asked her not to.
“I didn’t really see an issue with it and I wanted people to know that I’m with them and I’m standing by them,” Nezza told CNN on Tuesday.
An unidentified person, who Nezza says is a Dodgers employee, can be heard on a video saying to the singer, “We are going to do the song in English today, so I’m not sure if that wasn’t relayed.”
Following her performance, the Dodgers employee – who she would not name – called Nezza’s manager almost immediately and told them to never call or email them again, and that their client was not welcome back, according to the singer.
The Dodgers have said publicly that there are “no consequences or hard feelings” regarding her performance and that she is not banned from – and welcome to return to – the stadium.
Nezza, whose parents are both immigrants, said she hasn’t been contacted by the team and doesn’t plan on attending the stadium again.
“I don’t feel welcome to come back,” she said.
Carerra said that attitude from the team confused and angered many fans.
“That’s kind of what’s been the confusion because they have spoken out against or regarding other social issues before,” she told CNN. “They’ve made statements before about things, and so, you know, the fact that it’s taking them this long is just, it’s very confusing, and it hurts.”
‘Can we even trust them?’
That frustration with the organization could ease among fans after Thursday’s confrontation with the Trump administration.
The back and forth with the administration came on the same day that the team was expected to release a statement on how it plans to support immigrants in the Los Angeles area affected by the immigration crackdown.
Gary Lee, the founder of DodgersNation.com, said silence is the Dodgers’ “default position” on the immigration crackdown, but the plan for an announcement by the team on how it plans to assist immigrants in the area was a relief.
“The Dodgers have arguably been more culturally influential to the city of Los Angeles” than other sports franchises, Lee said, “so there seems to be more responsibility to the community on their shoulders than any other franchise, including the Lakers.”
But after Thursday’s incident with federal agents, the planned announcement didn’t materialize.
For some fans, the damage is done regardless of what the team says. Carerra told CNN that the amount of public pressure on the Dodgers has her questioning the team in ways she never would have before. Even if the Dodgers made a strong statement of support or really threw federal agents off Dodger Stadium property on Thursday, she’s now wondering if it’s all a public relations move.
“It’s like, can we even trust them? Like, can we trust them up to this point that what they’re doing isn’t just to kind of, you know, protect themselves, and that sucks. I hate that it has to get to this point,” she said.
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