Community leaders petition Dodgers ‘to take a public stand' against ICE raids in L.A.
More than 50 community and religious leaders from around Los Angeles signed a petition Friday that called on the Dodgers 'to take a public stand against the indiscriminate ICE raids which are causing immense terror in our communities, hurting businesses, and separating families.'
'This is the moment for the Dodgers to stand with the families whom masked agents are tearing apart,' read the letter, which was signed by religious officials, labor leaders and immigrant-rights activists, and addressed to Dodgers owner Mark Walter.
'If these truly are OUR beloved Los Angeles Dodgers, we need you, more than ever, to stand with us, immigrants and non-immigrants alike. Stand with all of us.'
The petition, which was organized by faith-based community organizing network PICO California, came a day after the Dodgers postponed what was scheduled to be their first public comment regarding the immigration raids that have swept through the city over the last two weeks.
On Thursday, the club had been preparing to announce their plans for assistance to immigrant communities impacted by the recent events in the city, a team spokesperson told The Times this week.
But then, federal immigration agents showed up at Dodger Stadium on Thursday morning, attempting to access the ballpark's parking lots in an apparent effort to use them as a processing site for people who had been arrested in a nearby immigration raid.
The Dodgers denied the agents entry to the grounds, according to the team, but the resulting fallout prompted their planned announcement to be delayed.
'Because of the events earlier today, we continue to work with groups that were involved with our programs,' team president Stan Kasten said. 'But we are going to have to delay today's announcement while we firm up some more details. We'll get back to you soon with the timing.'
Friday's petition implored the club to not wait any longer, asking the team to:
A news release announcing the letter also promoted a public petition campaign for fans to sign.
Many of the signatories of Friday's petition were local church leaders, including the bishops of the Methodist California-Pacific Conference and Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.
'For generations, Angelenos have prayed their Dodgers on through good times and bad,' John Harvey Taylor, the Episcopal bishop, said in a statement. 'Dodgers security were champions this weekend. We pray that the Dodgers will stand with their fans, and their friends and family, who are at risk from these cruel workplace raids.'
The petition was also signed by representatives from more than 20 community advocacy groups, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and National Day Laborer Organizing Network; as well as labor leaders from local teacher unions and the Service Employees International Union, among others.
'We love the Dodgers not only because they are champions, but even more because they are the team of Jackie Robinson, of Fernando Valenzuela, of Kiké Hernandez — baseball players who have helped bend the moral arc of the universe towards justice,' Joseph Tomás McKellar, executive director of the PICO California organization that organized the petition, said in a statement. 'This is a moment when the Dodgers, a beloved family and cultural institution for 67 years, can take a moral stand and make an impact on the lives of vulnerable families in our region. Families are sacred.'
The Dodgers — which, the petition notes, has a roughly 40% Latino fan base — had been under increased public pressure in recent days to address the immigration raids happening around the city.
Last weekend, they received backlash when singer and social media personality Nezza performed a Spanish-language version of the national anthem at a game, in an act of protest against the raids, despite being asked by a club employee to sing it in English. Stadium security officials have also been seen cracking down on anti-ICE signage that some fans have tried to display around the ballpark recently. And this week, some fans on social media began to call for a protest against the team on Saturday.
The Dodgers are still expected to unveil their plans to assist local immigrant communities in the near future. If not for Thursday's unexpected encounter with federal immigration agents, it might have already happened by now.
But instead, they have yet to break their silence on the issue.
And on Friday, community leaders turned up the public pressure to do so.
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