LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday blocked federal immigration agents from entering their stadium as dozens of ICE protesters gathered outside the venue, the team said.
The baseball organization said on social media that federal agents working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrived at the stadium Thursday and “requested permission to access the parking lots.”
“They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization,” the Dodgers said. Their evening game against the San Diego Padres went ahead as scheduled.
ICE responded to the Dodgers on social media: “False. We were never there.”
Two sources familiar with the matter said federal agents in government vehicles carrying detainees showed up at Dodger Stadium on Thursday morning but were turned away.
A source familiar with Dodgers operations said that after they were denied entry at Gate E, agents processed multiple detainees just outside the ballpark.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents conducted operations in Hollywood, San Fernando and Pacoima on Thursday. Numbers for how many people were processed were unavailable.
The source familiar with Dodgers’ operations said that agents involved in federal immigration enforcement have not been allowed to use stadium property for staging but that Los Angeles police assigned to protests have used a parking area at the stadium as they prepared to deploy.
Demonstrators outside the stadium’s gates held signs and chanted “ICE out of L.A.” and “ICE go home” as several dark SUVs stood on the opposite side of the road. Some federal agents appeared to be wearing Homeland Security uniforms.
“This had nothing to do with the Dodgers,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told NBC News in an email.
According to McLaughlin, Customs and Border Protection vehicles “were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement.”
A spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the agents’ presence at Dodger Stadium was intended to contribute to unease over the immigration raids.
“This is another example of the federal administration doing everything in their power to strike fear and hurt hard-working families,” said Newsom’s deputy director of communications, Diana Crofts-Pelayo.
Eunisses Hernandez, a Los Angeles City Council member, told NBC News she got calls early in the morning that “federal agents were staging here at the entrance of Dodgers Stadium. We got pictures of dozens of vehicles and dozens of agents.”
She said residents asked her to come “check things out because this is Dodgers property right here and what’s happening is outrageous.”
Los Angeles police were called, Hernandez said. They arrived in tactical gear around 11:30 a.m. and started moving protesters out of the way.
“People are out here because they don’t want to see their families torn apart. They don’t want to see more workers taken from their jobs,” Hernandez said at the site of the protest.
Sources said the Dodgers have cooperated with law enforcement in the past, letting them use parking lots around the stadium for staging purposes.
“Businesses and corporations have the power to say, ‘Not on my property,’ so we’re waiting to see that movement happen here,” Hernandez told NBC Los Angeles.
As anti-ICE demonstrations raged across Los Angeles this month, many residents have called on the Dodgers to support immigrant communities.
The criticism comes as Dodgers owner Mark Walter bought another renowned Los Angeles sports team, the Lakers.
The Dodgers, the defending World Series champions, said Thursday they were postponing an announcement about an initiative expected to assist immigrant communities affected by recent ICE raids.
One of the team’s star players, Kike Hernández, released a statement this week to show his support.
“I am saddened and infuriated by what’s happening in our country and our city,” the statement reads. “I cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused, and ripped apart. All people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity, and human rights.”
Jacob Soboroff and Andrew Blankstein reported from Los Angeles and Nicole Acevedo from New York.
Erick Mendoza, David Douglas and Dennis Romero contributed.
