Were ICE agents turned away from Dodger Stadium by LAPD? ‘We were never there,’ agency says
A line of unmarked white vans and SUVs at Dodger Stadium sparked a wave of speculation online about immigration enforcement at the stadium Thursday, but team officials say the agents were denied entry.
In photos posted on social media Thursday morning, the vehicles appeared to be staging near the downtown parking lot entrance to the stadium, which drew several dozen protesters to the area.
The group gathered downhill from the agents, who stood around three unmarked SUVs closer to the stadium’s entry gates but still outside the stadium parking lot.
Five agents — several covering their faces with gaiters and armed with pistols — stood between the vehicles. They did not wear identifying items or badges. When asked by a Los Angeles Times reporter which agency they were with, they said “DHS” and declined to comment further.
The scene sparked a wave of speculation online and among the protesters about where the white vans photographed hours earlier in the same spot had gone. Occasionally, a protester walked up to the agents to record their vehicles on video, only to be told to back away or face arrest.
Eventually, police came to the scene and the agents drove away. The crowd of several dozen dispersed by the afternoon.
According to a statement by the team, the agents were denied entry to the Dodger Stadium grounds when they attempted to enter the parking lots.
“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. Tonight’s game will be played as scheduled,” the statement said.
But both the Department of Homeland Security and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials took to social media to clarify Thursday’s events.
Responding to the team’s post on social media, ICE posted on X: “False. We were never there.”
The Department of Homeland Security, meanwhile, said it was Customs and Border Patrol agents who were at the stadium, but not for an operation.
“This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. (U.S. Customs and Border Patrol) vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement,” the agency said.
A Los Angeles Police Department source denied that the department received a request from the Dodgers to remove federal agents from the stadium grounds. Federal agents had gathered near the stadium to conduct a briefing, but had left by the time images of the gathering began circulating on social media, the source said.
The Dodgers did, however, ask police to intervene after a group of protesters showed up to the area, according to the source, who requested anonymity in order to discuss internal matters.
Among those outside the stadium were members of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA.
“The fact that these raids continue is what we Angelenos should be very concerned about,” said CHIRLA member Jorge-Mario Cabrera, who was in contact with fellow members monitoring activity at the stadium Thursday. “Dodger stadium is a place where Angeleno families come and have fun.”
The parking lot is jointly owned by the Dodgers’ ownership group and the team’s former owner, billionaire Frank McCourt.
The Dodgers have been under pressure since the raids began this month to make a statement in support of immigrants. On Wednesday, the team said it intended to announce plans Thursday to assist the immigrant communities recently affected in Los Angeles.
Singer and social media personality Nezza sang a Spanish version of the national anthem at Dodger Stadium in an act of protest against the immigration raids, despite being asked by a team employee to sing in English.
(Staff writers Libor Jany, Andrew Campa and Bill Shaikin contributed to this report.)
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