Federal immigration agents asked to leave Dodger Stadium parking lot,
team says
[June 20, 2025]
By DOUG PADILLA and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers organization said Thursday
that it asked federal immigration agents to leave the Dodger Stadium
grounds after they arrived at a parking lot near one of the gates.
Dozens of federal agents with their faces covered arrived in SUVs and
cargo vans to a lot near the stadium’s Gate E entrance. A group of
protesters carrying signs against U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement started amassing shortly after, local media reported.
“This morning, ICE agents came to Dodger Stadium and requested
permission to access the parking lots. They were denied entry to the
grounds by the organization,” the team said in a statement posted on X.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement posted on X that its agents
were never there.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland
Security, said the agents were with Customs and Border Protection and
that they were not trying to enter the stadium.
“This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. (Customs and Border
Protection) vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly,
unrelated to any operation or enforcement," she said in an email.
The team said the game against the San Diego Padres later Thursday will
be played as planned.
Television cameras showed about four agents remained at the lot Thursday
afternoon while officers with the Los Angeles Police Department stood
between them and dozens of protesters, some carrying signs that read “I
Like My Ice Crushed” and chanting “ICE out of LA!”
Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez arrived at the stadium and said she had
been in communication with Dodger officials and the mayor’s office.
“We’ve been in communication with the mayor’s office, with the Dodgers,
with Dodgers security, about seeing if they can get them moved off their
private property,” she told KABC-TV. “Public property is different.
Private property -- businesses and corporations have the power to say,
‘Not on my property,’ And so we’re waiting to see that movement happen
here.”
Protests began June 6 after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of
workers in Los Angeles. Protesters blocked a major freeway and set cars
on fire the following days, and police responded with tear gas, rubber
bullets and flash-bang grenades.
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Federal agents stage outside Gate E of Dodger Stadium in Los
Angeles, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times
via AP)
The team has yet to make a statement regarding the arrests and raids.
The Dodgers’ heavily Latino fan base has been pushing for the team to
make a public statement and ignited a debate online about its stance on
the immigration crackdown happening in Los Angeles.
The Dodgers had been expected to issue a statement of support toward Los
Angeles-area communities affected by immigration enforcement, but no
statement had been released by 5 p.m. Thursday.
“Because of the events earlier today, we continue to work with groups
that were involved with our programs,” Dodgers President Stan Kasten
told a small group of reporters. “But we are going to have to delay
today’s announcement while we firm up some more details.”
The Trump administration has activated more than 4,000 National Guard
members and 700 Marines over the objections of city and state leaders.
Dozens of troops now guard federal buildings and protect federal agents
making arrests.
The demonstrations have been mostly concentrated downtown in the city of
around 4 million people. Thousands of people have peacefully rallied
outside City Hall and hundreds more protested outside a federal complex
that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held
following workplace raids.
Despite the protests, immigration enforcement activity has continued
throughout the county, with city leaders and community groups reporting
ICE present at libraries, car washes and Home Depots. School graduations
in Los Angeles have increased security over fears of ICE action and some
have offered parents the option to watch on Zoom. ___
Rodriguez reported from San Francisco.
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