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.
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In photos posted on social media, the vehicles appeared to be staging near the downtown parking lot entrance to the stadium, which was empty Thursday morning except for a small contingent of local media.
Images of the government vehicles immediately played out on social media and fueled speculation about their activities. The agents declined to say why they were at the stadium when asked by a Times reporter.
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.
The agents were at the location only briefly, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
“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.
