The Los Angeles Dodgers say they blocked federal agents from entering their stadium on Thursday, as immigration enforcement continues in the city.
In a post on social media, the baseball team said “ICE agents came to Dodger Stadium and requested permission to access the parking lots”, and were subsequently turned away.
Los Angeles is among the cities where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have ramped up raids to find undocumented migrants, which has caused protests in the region and across the US.
ICE denied that its agents were at the stadium. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, said other personnel were in the stadium parking lot “very briefly”.
Dozens of federal agents arrived near one of the main stadium entrances on Thursday morning. Several protesters arrived shortly after, according to local media reports.
When asked by the BBC whether their agents were at the scene, ICE responded saying: “False. ICE was never there.”
In a separate statement, the DHS said that vehicles belonging to a different agency that it oversees – Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – were at the stadium “unrelated to any operation or enforcement” and that the agents’ presence “had nothing to do with the Dodgers”.
BBC Verify examined the images of the agents and concluded that some appear to be wearing CBP badges. They note that some agents do not appear to be wearing badges or any identifying clothes. CBP officers have been involved in several of the immigration enforcement operations across the region, which many locals have called “Ice raids” no matter that agency is involved.
It is unclear exactly why the officials were at the stadium. The Dodgers hosted a game against the San Diego Padres, which went ahead as scheduled later on Thursday.
On Friday, the Dodgers announced $1m (£743,000) to help families of “immigrants impacted by recent events in the region” – marking the team’s first official response to the ongoing raids and protests in the city. The team said more community efforts would be announced in coming days.
The team has a large Latino fan base, and according to a 2023 Major League Baseball study, about 30% of players in the league have Hispanic heritage.
One of them, Dodgers player Kiké Hernández, took to Instagram to voice his criticism of the raids on Los Angeles, saying he is “saddened and infuriated by what’s happening in our country and our city”.
“This is my second home. And I cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart,” he said.
Recent intensified ICE activity in Los Angeles is part of President Donald Trump’s wider crackdown on immigration.
The move has sparked massive protests, prompting Trump to send 700 US Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops to the Los Angeles area to support the federal response to the unrest.
The raids in America’s second-biggest city are unfolding against the backdrop of an aggressive push to raise arrest and deportation numbers.
ICE made more than 66,000 arrests in the first 100 days of Trump’s second term, according agency statistics, but on the campaign trail Trump promised to deport millions of immigrants.
Meanwhile, White House border czar Tom Homan said on Thursday that the Trump administration will resume immigration raids at workplaces.
“The message is clear: we’re going to continue conducting worksite enforcement operations, including on farms and in hotels, but on a prioritised basis. Criminals come first,” Homan told reporters.
The statement comes days after DHS announced reversing recent guidance that called for a pause on operations at farms, restaurants and hotels, which employ large numbers of immigrant workers.
By BBC News
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