Dodgers pledge $1 million to support families impacted by U.S. immigration raids

The Los Angeles Dodgers have committed $1 million toward direct financial assistance for families of immigrants impacted by the surge in detentions and deportations in the region, the team announced on Friday.
The Dodgers will partner with the city to get the money to those in "critical need," with more announcements expected in the coming days involving local community and labor organizations. The baseball team, which has a large Latino fan base, aims to expand its outreach through these partnerships.
The news comes two weeks after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents began raids across the city, leading to calls from some Dodgers fans for the team to take a stand against the federal government's mass deportation efforts.
"What's happening in Los Angeles has reverberated among thousands upon thousands of people, and we have heard the calls for us to take a leading role on behalf of those affected," Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten said in a statement.
"We believe that by committing resources and taking action, we will continue to support and uplift the communities of Greater Los Angeles."
The team stopped short of calling for an end to the raids, something a coalition of over 50 community, labor, faith, and immigrant rights leaders had asked for them to do in a petition sent to the ball club earlier in the day.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass thanked the Dodgers for supporting the city's immigrant community.
"These last weeks have sent shock waves of fear rippling through every neighborhood and have had a direct impact on our economy," Bass said in a statement.
"My message to all Angelenos is clear: We will stick together during this time and we will not turn our backs on one another — that's what makes this the greatest city in the world."
Friday's announcement comes a day after the Dodgers said they had denied ICE agents access to the parking lot at Dodger Stadium.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said on Thursday that CBP vehicles used the parking lot briefly and that their presence "had nothing to do with the Dodgers."
The raids have sparked street protests, which in turn prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to send in the National Guard and U.S. Marines to protect federal personnel and property, fueling more protests and tension.
The Dodgers, coming off a World Series championship in 2024, are a cultural icon in Los Angeles. Their Latino fan base has been a large part of the team's identity at least since the "Fernandomania" craze surrounding Mexican-born pitcher Fernando Valenzuela in the early 1980s.
The professional soccer clubs LAFC and Angel City FC have issued statements of support for immigrants but otherwise the city's sports franchises have refrained from commenting.
The Dodgers said they hoped that their action would "encourage organizations in a similar position to use their resources to directly support the families and workers who have suffered economic hardship."

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Japan Times

3 hours ago

• Japan Times

Dodgers pledge $1 million to support families impacted by U.S. immigration raids

The Los Angeles Dodgers have committed $1 million toward direct financial assistance for families of immigrants impacted by the surge in detentions and deportations in the region, the team announced on Friday. The Dodgers will partner with the city to get the money to those in "critical need," with more announcements expected in the coming days involving local community and labor organizations. The baseball team, which has a large Latino fan base, aims to expand its outreach through these partnerships. The news comes two weeks after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents began raids across the city, leading to calls from some Dodgers fans for the team to take a stand against the federal government's mass deportation efforts. "What's happening in Los Angeles has reverberated among thousands upon thousands of people, and we have heard the calls for us to take a leading role on behalf of those affected," Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten said in a statement. "We believe that by committing resources and taking action, we will continue to support and uplift the communities of Greater Los Angeles." The team stopped short of calling for an end to the raids, something a coalition of over 50 community, labor, faith, and immigrant rights leaders had asked for them to do in a petition sent to the ball club earlier in the day. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass thanked the Dodgers for supporting the city's immigrant community. "These last weeks have sent shock waves of fear rippling through every neighborhood and have had a direct impact on our economy," Bass said in a statement. "My message to all Angelenos is clear: We will stick together during this time and we will not turn our backs on one another — that's what makes this the greatest city in the world." Friday's announcement comes a day after the Dodgers said they had denied ICE agents access to the parking lot at Dodger Stadium. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said on Thursday that CBP vehicles used the parking lot briefly and that their presence "had nothing to do with the Dodgers." The raids have sparked street protests, which in turn prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to send in the National Guard and U.S. Marines to protect federal personnel and property, fueling more protests and tension. The Dodgers, coming off a World Series championship in 2024, are a cultural icon in Los Angeles. Their Latino fan base has been a large part of the team's identity at least since the "Fernandomania" craze surrounding Mexican-born pitcher Fernando Valenzuela in the early 1980s. The professional soccer clubs LAFC and Angel City FC have issued statements of support for immigrants but otherwise the city's sports franchises have refrained from commenting. The Dodgers said they hoped that their action would "encourage organizations in a similar position to use their resources to directly support the families and workers who have suffered economic hardship."

Japan Times

7 hours ago

• Japan Times

Can NATO keep Trump on-message about Russia threat?

When leaders from NATO's 32 countries gather for a summit in The Hague next week, most want to send a clear message: Russia is the main threat to their alliance. But the loudest voice in the room likely won't be on the same page. Since coming back to office, U.S. President Donald Trump has upended the West's approach toward Russia's war on Ukraine by undercutting Kyiv and opening the door to closer ties with Moscow. While the volatile leader has expressed some frustration with Russia's Vladimir Putin for refusing a ceasefire, he has steered clear of punishing the Kremlin. At a Group of Seven summit this week Trump made waves by saying the group of industrialized countries should never have expelled Russia. Ahead of the Hague gathering, diplomats at NATO have been wrangling over a five-paragraph summit statement, with many countries pressing for a full-throated assertion of the menace from Moscow. That, they say, will help explain the main thrust of the meeting: an agreement for countries to ramp up defense spending to satisfy Trump's demand for it to reach 5% of GDP. Since the Kremlin launched its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the alliance has called Russia "the most significant and direct threat to allies' security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area." But this time around the United States — backed up by Moscow-friendly Hungary and Slovakia — has been intent on watering that down. Diplomats have been juggling with variants such as referring to "threats, including Russia" or mentioning "the long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security." The verbal nuances may seem slight, but they mean a lot to those countries being asked to massively ramp up spending and those on NATO's eastern flank most threatened by the Kremlin. NATO has warned that Russia could be ready to attack an alliance country within five years. "If we can get Trump to sign off on calling Russia a long-term threat then that would be a good result," a senior European diplomat said. As U.S. peace efforts between Russia and Ukraine have stalled, the diplomat said that Washington appeared to have "moved a centimeter in our direction" on taking a stronger stance on Russia. "Of course more hawkish countries want to go further — but just getting Trump to agree that would still be fine," the diplomat said. Part of the U.S. reasoning is that Washington is more worried about the threat China poses worldwide — and that Russia is more a problem just in Europe. "Russia is the near threat," said U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker. "But China is obviously a big challenge for all of us, and we need to be allied and address those threats as well." Camille Grand of the European Council on Foreign Relations said that beneath the diplomatic fine-tuning, NATO was being confronted by a "fundamental question." "How does the United States view Russia?" he said. "So far we haven't really got an answer." Even if NATO does opt for stronger wording on Moscow, there is always the possibility that Trump could show up in The Hague and directly contradict it. But the debate could come into sharper focus in the months after the summit when the United States could announce a pullback of forces in Europe as part of a review of its global deployments. One area where Washington appears clearly not on board with most other allies is on backing Ukraine. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to attend on the sidelines of the summit but his involvement is being kept to a minimum to avoid a bust-up with Trump. Diplomats said there should be a reference in the summit statement linking new defense spending to helping Ukraine — but there will be no talk of Kyiv's long-term push to join NATO. "The U.S. does not see Ukrainian security as essential to European security," said Kurt Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO. "Our European allies do, so they feel that if Putin is allowed to prevail in Ukraine, or if Ukraine does not survive as a sovereign, independent state, they are at risk."

Japan Times

10 hours ago

• Japan Times

Voice of America parent terminates over 600 more staff in likely death knell

The parent agency of Voice of America said on Friday it had issued termination notices to over 639 more staff, completing an 85% decrease in personnel since March and effectively spelling the end of a broadcasting network founded to counter Nazi propaganda. Kari Lake, senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, said the staff reduction meant 1,400 positions had been eliminated as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda to cut staffing at the agency to a statutory minimum. "Reduction in Force Termination Notices were sent to 639 employees at USAGM and Voice of America, part of a long-overdue effort to dismantle a bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy," Lake said in a statement. She said the agency had been "riddled with dysfunction, bias, and waste." Lake said the move meant USAGM now operated near its statutory minimum of 81 employees. She said 250 employees would remain across USAGM, Voice of America, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which transmits news into communist-run Cuba. She said none of OCB's 33 employees had been terminated. The move likely marks an end to VOA, which was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda, operated in nearly 50 languages and reached 360 million people a week, many living under authoritarian regimes. In May, nearly 600 VOA contractors were dismissed. Some Republicans have accused VOA and other publicly funded media outlets of being biased against conservatives, and called for them to be shuttered as part of wider efforts to shrink the government. Another USAGM station, Radio Free Asia, which has already been reduced to skeleton staffing, said in a staff email on Friday that it was implementing additional furloughs in its human resources, ordinance, journalist security, and research, training and evaluation teams. Various court cases are in train against the USAGM cuts.