LA Dodgers pledge $1 million in assist of immigrants amid ICE raids : NPR

The Los Angeles Dodgers have introduced they are going to commit $1 million in direction of monetary help for households of immigrants “impacted by current occasions within the area.”

The announcement, made on Friday, didn’t specify precisely what “current occasions” referred to, but it surely comes amid ongoing federal immigration raids focusing on migrants within the space, and calls from the Dodgers’ fanbase for the group to talk out towards them.

“What’s taking place in Los Angeles has reverberated amongst 1000’s upon 1000’s of individuals, and now we have heard the requires us to take a number one position on behalf of these affected,” the Dodgers president and CEO, Stan Kasten, mentioned in an announcement.

“We consider that by committing sources and taking motion, we’ll proceed to assist and uplift the communities of Better Los Angeles.”

The announcement mentioned the Dodgers would work with the Metropolis of Los Angeles, and within the coming days make extra bulletins with local people and labor organizations that assist households with meals and psychological well being providers.

Federal immigration enforcement sparked heated protests in Los Angeles this month and ongoing authorized challenges over President Trump’s choice to ship Nationwide Guard troops into the town.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has been sharply vital of the Trump administration’s intervention, was additionally quoted within the Dodgers assertion.

“These final weeks have despatched shockwaves of concern rippling by means of each neighborhood and have had a direct affect on our economic system,” she mentioned. “My message to all Angelenos is evident: We’ll stick collectively throughout this time and we is not going to flip our backs on each other — that is what makes this the best metropolis on this planet.”

Motion on the stadium

The monetary pledge got here sooner or later after the Dodgers discovered themselves in a confrontation with immigration authorities.

On Thursday morning, a number of autos had been seen parked close to the stadium and 5 folks in tactical gear had been gathered close by, in keeping with LAist, which reported that protestors and media then got here to the scene.

Law enforcement officials stand guard as they shut the gate of the primary entrance of Dodger Stadium confronted with protesters on Thursday.

Etienne Laurent/AFP by way of Getty Pictures

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Etienne Laurent/AFP by way of Getty Pictures

“This morning, ICE brokers got here to Dodger Stadium and requested permission to entry the parking tons,” the Dodgers wrote in a submit on X. “They had been denied entry to the grounds by the group.”

Responding on X, the Los Angeles department of Enforcement and Elimination Operations, which operates inside ICE, denied the Dodgers’ report.

“False. We had been by no means there,” the company wrote.

The Division of Homeland Safety additionally posted on X that the exercise “had nothing to do with the Dodger.”

“CBP autos had been within the stadium parking zone very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement,” the division wrote.

Law enforcement officials stand guard as they shut the gate of the primary entrance of Dodger Stadium on Thursday.

Etienne Laurent/AFP by way of Getty Pictures

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Etienne Laurent/AFP by way of Getty Pictures

Trump has made clear that he needs ICE to proceed focusing on Los Angeles, and to place the warmth on different cities with majority Democratic management.

“ICE Officers are herewith ordered, by discover of this [post], to do all of their energy to attain the crucial objective of delivering the only largest Mass Deportation Program in Historical past,” the president posted on Reality Social.

“As a way to obtain this, we should broaden efforts to detain and deport Unlawful Aliens in America’s largest Cities, equivalent to Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, the place Thousands and thousands upon Thousands and thousands of Unlawful Aliens reside.”