LA Dodgers pledge $1M to support immigrant communities after ICE raid backlash

After facing mounting pressure to speak out, the Los Angeles Dodgers have announced a $1 million commitment to support immigrant families affected by recent federal immigration raids across Southern California.
The announcement, made Friday after a day-long delay prompted by the presence of federal agents at the team's stadium, marks the Dodgers' first public response to the growing backlash.
'In partnership with the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Dodgers have committed $1 million toward direct financial assistance for families of immigrants impacted by recent events in the region,' read the beginning of the organization's statement.
The Dodgers — criticized by immigrant-advocacy groups and community leaders for staying silent — said the financial pledge is only the beginning. The team plans to share more initiatives in the coming days 'with local community and labor organizations' to further aid youth and families affected by the raids.
'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,' said Stan Kasten, president & CEO, Los Angeles Dodgers. 'We believe that by committing resources and taking action, we will continue to support and uplift the communities of Greater Los Angeles.'
The Dodgers' statement also emphasized the team and the city's 'proven ability to get financial resources to those in critical need,' encouraging other organizations to follow suit.
In the days leading up to the announcement, the team faced criticism from fans and immigrant groups for staying silent as ICE operations created fear across L.A. neighborhoods.
A coalition of Latino organizations urged the Dodgers and other professional sports teams to step up. Last weekend, Latin American pop singer Nezza defied the team's reported request and performed 'The Star-Spangled Banner' in Spanish before a home game — an act that coincided with protests against what activists are calling a 'mass deportation program' tied to former President Trump's immigration rhetoric.
The Dodgers later responded to Nezza's performance, saying there were 'no hard feelings' and that they 'would be happy to have her back.'
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass praised the team's decision to take action:
'I want to thank the Dodgers for leading with this action to support the immigrant community of Los Angeles. These last weeks have sent shockwaves of fear rippling through every neighborhood and have had a direct impact on our economy. 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.'

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Yahoo

an hour ago

• Yahoo

The Dodgers say ICE tried to enter its stadium grounds. The federal agency calls the report ‘false': Here's what we know

Details from community members and law enforcement have emerged about what unfolded in Los Angeles Thursday as federal agents were seen just outside the vast Dodger Stadium parking lot. The news had sparked concerns that the Trump administration's immigration crackdown – and the ongoing raids that have taken place in public and at workplaces – was coming to the home of the World Series champions hours before a game against the San Diego Padres. The Los Angeles area has remained on edge since President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of National Guard troops to the city on June 7. Meanwhile, Los Angeles officials say they don't know where federal agents will show up, and the White House is expecting ICE to arrest 3,000 people per day. While agents were still on scene, a few dozen protesters rushed to the Dodger Stadium area and began chanting anti-ICE slogans at the federal agents. Another few dozen people showed up before the evening game outside the stadium to protest. However, in response to the Los Angeles Dodgers' statement on X saying that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents requested access to the team's parking lot, ICE said its agents 'were never there.' Here's what we know: According to the Dodgers, agents from ICE arrived at Dodger Stadium on Thursday and asked for permission to access the team's parking lots, but the Dodgers denied them entry. The Dodgers hosted a celebrity softball game at 5:30 p.m. local time, before their home game against the San Diego Padres at 7:10 p.m. Thursday. A US Customs and Border Protection official, who maintained there were no operations related to the MLB franchise Thursday, told CNN that CBP vehicles were in a parking lot on Dodger Stadium grounds, and one of them had a car malfunction, which caused them to stay longer. 'This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. CBP vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement,' Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. The ICE account on X called out the Dodgers directly, saying their post was 'false.' 'We were never there,' the post read. The first image of unmarked vans and federal agents outside Dodger Stadium taken by a community activist, and the last sighting of these vans – taken by a chopper from a CNN affiliate – showed them at two different entry points over a period of nearly four hours. An Echo Park Rapid Response community activist, who did not want to be named, told CNN they followed agents directly from a Home Depot in Hollywood on Thursday to just outside the ballpark. The activist said around 7:25 a.m. local time, community members signaled 'what they called a really heavy ICE presence at the Home Depot in Hollywood,' so they headed that way. Once there, they saw two people being detained at a Home Depot and followed the vehicles in which the detainees were taken away, to near Dodger Stadium. They saw a CBP agent, the activist said, whom they had also seen and spoken to at the Home Depot. 'I asked what they were doing. He responded that they bring the detainees there (near Dodger Stadium) to process them,' the activist said. 'They conduct their investigation there without public interference, (…) that they can't do it in the Home Depot parking lot because the public makes it too dangerous.' Another activist in the area, Chelsea Kirk, posted images to social media around 8:15 a.m. local time, showing agents near the stadium's Gate A. Kirk told CNN she followed what she believed to be an ICE van from the Home Depot to Gate A at Dodger Stadium, where she said she saw federal agents staged. Kirk posted the first of her photos from Gate A, then followed agents to Gate E, where local CNN affiliates and protesters later showed up. Just before noon, CNN affiliate aerial footage showed the final vans being escorted out of this area. CNN has reached back out to CBP and ICE for clarification regarding the community members' description of events. No matter the purpose of their presence in the area, the appearance of federal agents at Dodger Stadium is enough to create a high-profile event given the atmosphere that is gripping Los Angeles – a city that is home to more than 1.35 million immigrants, according to the LA government in 2024. On June 6, raids occurred outside a Home Depot and an apparel warehouse in Los Angeles. The raids were among the operations that set off days of protests in the city. Ongoing raids and arrests by plainclothes agents have separated families and sparked fear across communities, including throughout Los Angeles. Some businesses have been closing early, with more customers staying home. As the school year ended, some students wept openly in class out of concern for their families. Relatives opted out of attending 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 arrests have been rife, not just in LA, but across 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. CNN's Graham Hurley contributed to this report.

Los Angeles Times

2 hours ago

• Los Angeles Times

Protesters gather after immigration raid targets car wash in L.A. County

Protesters gathered in southeast Los Angeles County Friday evening, facing off with masked men in fatigues after federal agents detained at least three people at a car wash in the city of Bell, according to witnesses, and visited another car wash in neighboring Maywood. The immigration action in Bell took place at Jack's Car Wash and Detailing, located in the 7000 block of Atlantic Avenue, just north of Florence Avenue. Security camera footage reviewed by The Times shows masked men wearing olive vests chasing a car wash employee, who was wearing a bright green uniform and cap. The video shows another employee — wearing a bright green cap, a white long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans — surrounded by the masked men, his hands restrained behind his back. The employee is tackled to the ground as customers and others gathered, with some taking out their phones to record videos. The man in the white-long sleeved shirt is a car wash worker who is a U.S. citizen, according to the employee's brother, Jesús Rafael Cervantes. He said his brother, who lives in Bell Gardens, wanted to defend a coworker— an action that, Cervantes said, prompted agents to detain his brother. 'Just for defending someone, they came and knocked him down. As you can see in the videos, they came and knocked him down like that, just like that. And that's unfair, that they come and grab a person like that as if he were an animal or something,' Cervantes told The Times. Protesters gathered to confront the agents in the area, which is about 6 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. In one video shared with The Times, a protester sprays white paint on a silver SUV and a voice can be heard saying, 'Get the ... out of here!' while others jeer. People can be seen hitting the vehicle. Officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return a request for comment. In a statement posted on social media, the agency said Border Patrol vehicles 'were violently targeted during lawful operations' in Bell and neighboring Maywood. The Department of Homeland Security said one vehicle was rammed and had its tires slashed on Atlantic Boulevard. On Slauson Avenue, a civilian struck a federal vehicle, totaling it, according to the department. The statement included photos showing silver vehicles with cracked or shattered windows. One silver SUV was shown with dented doors and scratched paint. 'The driver was arrested for suspicion of vehicular assault as a mob formed and slashed additional tires,' the department said. 'Federal law enforcement is facing an ever-escalating increase in assaults—but we will not be deterred,' the department said. 'If you assault a federal officer, you will be prosecuted.' The statement did not indicate how many were detained on immigration-related matters. The protest in Bell, a city with a large Latino and Lebanese community, comes as the federal government continues its campaign in Los Angeles to find and capture undocumented immigrants. The actions have spurred backlash from local and state officials and have forced some residents into hiding. 'We're not sure who these armed men are. They show up without uniforms. They show up completely masked. They refuse to give ID. They're driving regular cars with tinted windows and in some cases, out of state license plates. Who are these people?' Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said at a briefing Friday night. 'If they're federal officials, why is it that they do not identify themselves?' Bass asked. Around Atlantic and Brompton avenues, crowds of people gathered, taking videos and looking at the agents — armed individuals wearing balaclavas, some carrying long weapons, wearing vests and camoflauge pants. They stood in the street near a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop. The crowd and agents were separated by yellow tape. One woman with a bullhorn hurled obscenities at the agents and President Trump; others waved a Mexican flag and an upside-down U.S. flag, traditionally a symbol of protest or distress. 'Losers!' another woman called out. 'Go fight a real war!' Another shouted, 'Shame on you!' Elsewhere, one of the armed people wore a U.S. flag on his vest, and some onlookers called out to them. 'Are you a bounty hunter? How much is the bounty for an illegal right now?' someone on the street yelled. Cudahy Mayor Elizabeth Alcantar Loza was in Bell as the crowds gathered, and said the mood on Atlantic Avenue shifted when suddenly an unmarked silver SUV drove toward her and other people standing near her, angering the crowd. Some began to hit and throw objects at the SUV. A second unmarked vehicle attempted to do the same thing moments later, she said. 'It felt like there was a point being made to incite violence,' Alcantar Loza said. 'People were peacefully protesting, and it became something completely different because of the vehicle that was trying to drive into the crowd.' 'We've seen it across the board, folks show up to an immigration activity and then violence is enacted upon them. Then they respond and we're shown as violent protesters—when in reality folks were calm, they were chanting, they were protesting. And they tried to run people over,' she said. Just after 8 p.m., peaceful protesters waving Mexican and American flags gathered around Jack's Car Wash in Bell, as motorists honked their horns in support. 'ICE out of everywhere!!!' one sign said. 'Immigrants built this country,' said another. There was another immigration action that appeared to focus on a car wash in Maywood on Friday, according to Maywood Councilman Eddie De La Riva. Ultimately no one was taken from that business, he said. At one point, there was considerable commotion near the car wash. Video shared with The Times shows a minor collision between a blue BMW and a blue SUV with at least three agents inside, all wearing green vests. One of the passengers in the SUV opens his door in front of the slowly moving BMW, causing the BMW to hit the SUV's door. Agents detained the BMW's driver, who was later released, the councilman said, after onlookers shouted at the agents to let the driver go. By then, a crowd of protesters had formed. Fernando Botello, 39, was driving back to Maywood after picking up his girlfriend's 14-year-old son when he got an alert on his citizen app that people suspected to be immigration agents were spotted in the area. Moments later, he said, he learned that the agents were at an Xpress Wash at Slauson and Alamo avenues, just blocks from his home. When Botello got close to the intersection, he could see several vehicles were blocking the roadway. Unable to move, he got out of the car and watched the scene. He said the crowd started screaming to let the man go. He could hear people asking for the agents' badge numbers. After five minutes, he said, local police arrived. It was at that point, he said, the agents got in their vehicles and threw tear gas at a group standing on a corner near a park. A video taken by Botello shows an armed masked man standing from the ledge of an open door of a black SUV slowly driving along a street near Maywood's Riverfront Park. The video shows the agent throwing an object toward a crowd of people, and a loud bang can be heard as he gets back in the vehicle. Botello said the object was a flash bang grenade, and was tossed at people who were taking video. 'They knew what they wanted to do,' he said. As he recounted the situation, Botello paused, trying to hold back tears. 'I was upset because the people were exercising their right. They weren't hitting the officers' vehicles, they weren't in the middle of the street,' he said. 'You're punishing people for standing up for their neighbors and yourself.' 'It feels surreal. I don't know how long this is going to last.'

USA Today

3 hours ago

• USA Today

L.A. Dodgers commit $1 million toward families of immigrants 'impacted by recent events'

One day after Department of Homeland Security officers infringed upon their home amid nearly two weeks of heightened tension in Los Angeles, the Dodgers on Friday announced a $1 million "commitment" toward financial assistance for families of immigrants "impacted by recent events in the region." Los Angeles has been roiled by aggressive raids from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which have honed in on workplaces frequented by immigrants. Marines and the National Guard have been dispatched to Los Angeles in the wake of protests that have seen heavy use of tear gas and projectile weapons by law enforcement. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have been heavily criticized for both action and inaction from their heavily Latino fan base. Manager Dave Roberts stated he didn't have enough information to opine on the situation, and the club came under more scrutiny after R&B singer Nezza sang the national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium, and posted videos and correspondence showing it was against the Dodgers' wishes. Veteran utilityman Kiké Hernández posted a message of support on Instagram, and in the days following the club indicated it would soon show support for the area's immigrant population. Then came Thursday's caravan of DHS vans and vehicles to the Dodger Stadium gate, where they apparently hoped to use the grounds for staging. Protestors arrived and DHS officials were eventually escorted out a separate exit by the Los Angeles Police Department. But many remained and turned their grievances toward the Dodgers for staying largely neutral at a time the community was reeling. The Dodgers' statement nodded non-specifically toward events in the area while not referencing ICE, DHS or other outside forces. "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,' said Dodgers president Stan Kasten, whose club generated an estimated $752 million in revenue last season and is valued at nearly $7 billion. 'We believe that by committing resources and taking action, we will continue to support and uplift the communities of Greater Los Angeles.' Mayor Karen Bass indicated the external infringement on the community has had an impact. 'These last weeks have sent shockwaves of fear rippling through every neighborhood and have had a direct impact on our economy," Bass said.