US immigration agents barred from LA Dodgers' stadium: team
The Los Angeles Dodgers said Thursday the club barred federal immigration agents from the team's stadium parking lot as a fresh wave of raids continued across America's second-biggest city.
The Dodgers, who have been criticized for their failure to comment publicly on the US government's immigration crackdown in Los Angeles, said in a statement the team denied access to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who "requested permission to access the parking lots."
"They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization," the statement said, adding that the team's game later Thursday would go ahead as scheduled.
Images and video shared on social media showed a line of unmarked trucks and masked agents at one Dodger Stadium entrance while protesters nearby chanted "ICE out of LA."
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later clarified that the agents at the venue were from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), not ICE.
"This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. CBP vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement," a DHS statement said.
The incident comes against a backdrop of heightened tensions in Los Angeles, which has become ground zero of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown across the United States.
The city has seen scattered violence but mostly peaceful protests in recent weeks, ignited by an escalation in federal immigration sweeps that have targeted migrant workers in garment factories, car washes and other workplaces.
Local media reported further raids across the city on Thursday targeting Home Depot stores, a home improvement retailer where day laborers often gather in parking lots seeking work.
In addition to the mobilization of ICE agents, Trump has ordered the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines into the city in response to the protests -- a move opposed by city leaders and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is a Democrat.
The incident at Dodger Stadium on Thursday comes as the reigning World Series champions have faced criticism for their response to the immigration crackdown.
The team has a heavily Latino fan base, with some claiming a sense of betrayal over the franchise's failure to speak out against the ongoing raids.
As of early Thursday, the Dodgers have made no formal statement in regard to the immigration raids across the city.
- '100 percent betrayal' -
The team's failure to condemn the immigration offensive came under scrutiny last weekend, when Latin American pop singer Nezza defied Dodgers officials and sang the US national anthem in Spanish before the team's home game.
Speaking outside Dodger Stadium on Thursday after federal agents had left the venue, one 27-year-old fan among a small group of protesters told AFP she felt let down by the team.
"They've been very quiet since these ICE raids started, and I think it's very hypocritical of them not to say anything when the majority of their fan base is the Latino population here in Los Angeles," Paola, who asked only to be identified by her first name, told AFP.
"It 100 percent feels like betrayal. I was born and raised here, I've supported them my whole life -- for them not to come out and support us during these times is messed up."
Los Angeles Times sports columnist Dylan Hernandez has slammed the team's response to the immigration crackdown.
"The Dodgers boast that more than 40 percent of their fan base is Latino, but they can't even be bothered to offer the shaken community any words of comfort," Hernandez wrote. "How ungrateful. How disrespectful. How cowardly."
While the Dodgers have remained silent, the team's popular outfielder Enrique Hernandez lashed out against the raids in a statement on Instagram.
"I am saddened and infuriated by what's happening in our country and our city," wrote Hernandez, who is from Puerto Rico.
"This is my second home. And I cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart. ALL people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and human rights."
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