Petition starts circulating demanding Dodgers not go to the White House

Dodgers fans and activists gathered on Wednesday to call on the 2025 World Series Champions not to make an appearance at the White House. It is a tradition across major sports that when a team wins a championship they are invited to Washington, DC.

However, due to the Trump administration’s constant attacks against immigrants and for making Los Angeles a target for massive raids, detainments and deportations since June 6, pro-immigrant groups said it wouldn’t be right for the Dodgers to attend. 

“If you go to shake the hand of the man who's causing so much suffering for us, that constitutes a full betrayal to our community, to our city, to our families, to the fans. That’s what it means to us at this moment,” said Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), which is at the front of this campaign. 

Alvarado said many of the Dodgers players are also immigrants and as immigrants they share the incredible joy of winning and showing strength and courage to win the  seven game series, coming from behind in the exciting final game 

“That’s what immigrant laborers do every single day when they go look for work, they show great courage,” said Alvarado.

Jose Madera, member of the Pasadena Community Job Center, said as a lifelong fan of the Dodgers, some of his most cherished memories are when he would go with his father to enjoy the game and learn more about Fernando-mania. 

But under the current circumstances, he publicly asked the Dodgers, “do not shake the hand of the person who’s causing all this suffering in the community.”

Madera said there is a growing alliance calling for the Dodgers not to go to the White House. 

The petition

NDLON is encouraging fans to sign a the petition – which has more than 6,000 signatures and counting – to stand with the people of L.A. and decline any White House invitation. 

The petition states that by visiting a president who has used his power to harm the most vulnerable, the team would be turning its back on the very people who fill the stadiums, wear the jerseys and give this team their heart.

Latinos make up about 40% of the Dodgers fan base, and up until now, the Dodgers haven’t officially spoken against the massive immigration raids and attacks to Angelenos – documented and undocumented – happening every day. 

What many fans didn’t know is that Mark Walker, principal owner of the Dodgers, is also the CEO of Guggenheim Partners, which holds a 0.38% stake in the GEO Group, a private prison company that operates U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers. Guggenheim Partners is a financial firm that manages over $325 billion in assets. 

Walter also leads TWG Global, which recently partnered with Palantir Technologies, a data analytics firm that built ImmigrationOS. This system helps identify, track and deport noncitizens. ICE paid $30 million to build the platform.