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LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles Dodgers organization said Thursday that it asked US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to leave the Dodger Stadium grounds after they arrived at a parking lot near one of the gates.
Dozens of federal agents with their faces covered arrived in SUVs and cargo vans to a lot near the stadium’s Gate E entrance. A group of protesters carrying signs against ICE started amassing shortly after, local media reported.
“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,” the team said in a statement posted on X.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the agents were not trying to enter the stadium.
“This had nothing to do with the Dodgers.  vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement,” she said in an email.
The team said the game against the San Diego Padres later Thursday will be played as planned.
Television cameras showed about four agents remained at the lot Thursday afternoon while officers with the Los Angeles Police Department stood between them and dozens of protesters, some carrying signs that read “I Like My Ice Crushed” and chanting “ICE out of LA!”
Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez arrived at the stadium and said she had been in communication with Dodger officials and the mayor’s office.
“We’ve been in communication with the mayor’s office, with the Dodgers, with Dodgers security, about seeing if they can get them moved off their private property,” she told KABC-TV. “Public property is different. Private property — businesses and corporations have the power to say, ‘Not on my property,’ And so we’re waiting to see that movement happen here.”
Protests began June 6 after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of workers in Los Angeles. Protesters blocked a major freeway and set cars on fire the following days, and police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades.
The team has yet to make a statement regarding the arrests and raids. The Dodgers’ heavily Latino fan base have been pushing for the team to make a public statement and ignited a debate online about its stance on the immigration crackdown happening in Los Angeles.
The Trump administration has activated more than 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines over the objections of city and state leaders. Dozens of troops now guard federal buildings and protect federal agents making arrests.
The demonstrations have been mostly concentrated downtown in the city of around 4 million people. Thousands of people have peacefully rallied outside City Hall and hundreds more protested outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held following workplace raids.
Despite the protests, immigration enforcement activity has continued throughout the county, with city leaders and community groups reporting ICE present at libraries, car washes and Home Depots. School graduations in Los Angeles have increased security over fears of ICE action and some have offered parents the option to watch on Zoom.

BRUSSELS: Nine European Union countries have called on the European Commission to come up with proposals on how to discontinue EU trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The letter, addressed to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, was signed by foreign ministers from Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
The EU is Israel’s biggest trading partner, accounting about a third of its total goods trade. Two-way goods trade between the bloc and Israel stood at 42.6 billion euros ($48.91 billion) last year, though it was unclear how much of that trade involved settlements.
The ministers pointed to a July 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, which said Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there are illegal. It said states should take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that help maintain the situation.
“We have not seen a proposal to initiate discussions on how to effectively discontinue trade of goods and services with the illegal settlements,” the ministers wrote.
“We need the European Commission to develop proposals for concrete measures to ensure compliance by the Union with the obligations identified by the Court,” they added.
Israel’s diplomatic mission to the EU did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said Europe must ensure trade policy is in line with international law.
“Trade cannot be disconnected from our legal and moral responsibilities,” the minister said in a statement to Reuters.
“This is about ensuring that EU policies do not contribute, directly or indirectly, to the perpetuation of an illegal situation,” he said.
The ministers’ letter comes ahead of a meeting in Brussels on June 23 where EU foreign ministers are set to discuss the bloc’s relationship with Israel.
Ministers are expected to receive an assessment on whether Israel is complying with a human rights clause in a pact governing its political and economic ties with Europe, after the bloc decided to review Israel’s adherence to the agreement due to the situation in Gaza.