STORY: The Los Angeles Dodgers are donating $1 million to families of immigrants impacted by the surge in detentions and deportations carried out locally by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The team, which has a large Latino fan base, said it would partner with the city to get the money to those in "critical need," and that additional community efforts would be announced in the coming days.
The news comes two weeks after ICE agents began raids across L.A., leading to calls from some Dodgers fans for the team to take a stand against the federal government's mass deportation efforts.
Maria Acosta, a Dodgers merchandise seller, spoke to Reuters on Friday before the team's announcement.
"A lot of us Hispanic people support our games, and we're here because it's our home, it's our home. People have lived here and grew up in L.A., Echo Park, Los Angeles and we're still here. But you know, they may have their rights about why they're not doing it. It's not right because they should be because we're supporting them."
Later on Friday, Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten in a statement said the ICE raids had (quote) "reverberated among thousands upon thousands of people, and we have heard the calls for us to take a leading role on behalf of those affected."
The announcement came a day after the Dodgers said they had denied ICE agents access to the parking lot at Dodger Stadium.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, said that Customs and Border Protection vehicles used the parking lot briefly and that their presence had (quote), "nothing to do with the Dodgers."
