Major League Baseball Is Too Silent on Immigration Raids
Foreign-born players have long elevated MLB, so it must make its stance loud and clear on the Trump administration’s crackdown.
Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani hi-five each other during a game in 2021, when they were on their old teams.
Photographer: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images North AmericaLast week, at the height of the immigration protests convulsing Los Angeles, federal agents showed up at Dodger Stadium, seeking access to the parking lot. Up to that point, the Dodgers had refused to comment on the Trump administration’s immigration sweeps and their effect on the city’s Latino community. The silence stoked complaints that the team had turned its back on some of its most passionate devotees. By some accounts, Latinos comprise over 40% of Dodger fans.
But the morning agents came, the Dodgers finally acted. The team denied them access to the parking lot and a day later announced a $1 million pledge to help immigrant families harmed by the ongoing raids. That’s a modest show of support for an organization worth an estimated $7.7 billion, and it hasn’t satisfied everyone. But satisfactory or not, it’s a clear indication of whose side the Dodgers are taking.