❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Los Angeles Dodgers claims they denied U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) access to their baseball stadium parking lot for the purposes of a workplace raid; however, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) states the agents were members of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and were merely transferring detainees from an earlier raid nearby.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: ICE, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and DHS.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Thursday morning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
💬KEY QUOTE: “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.” – LA Dodgers statement.
🎯IMPACT: The decision sparked backlash on social media, with calls for boycotts and criticism of the baseball team’s stance.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is denying the Los Angeles Dodgers’ claims that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attempted to conduct a workplace raid at the baseball team’s stadium but was denied entry. On Thursday, the Dodgers claimed, “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.”
However, DHS, responding to the incident, has clarified that the presence of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) vehicles at the stadium was unrelated to any operational enforcement. “This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. CBP vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement,” DHS stated. A post from ICE’s official X account also denied the Dodgers’ claims, stating, “False. We were never there.”
The incident drew significant attention online, with images of DHS vehicles circulating on social media. CBP officials note that the vehicles were part of a separate raid at a nearby Home Depot, and due to protests, were unable to transfer the illegal immigrants they apprehended at the scene of the raid. Instead, they traveled to the nearby stadium parking lot to place detainees in vans to take them to a federal detention facility.
The Dodgers have faced increasing pressure to align with pro-illegal immigration activists, particularly after anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles earlier this month. Notably, the controversy comes in the wake of another divisive decision by the Dodgers, when the team chose to honor the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” a drag group centered around blasphemous distortions of the Catholic faith.
False. We were never there. https://t.co/ZquYiW0miQ
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) June 19, 2025
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