Nine-year-old demands the Dodgers speak up in favor of the immigrant community

 At first sight, Valentina Mia Zamora Claros looks like any other nine-year-old. She likes to play, enjoys time with her parents and is a member of a cheerleading team in her community. 

However, she recently made headlines for her advocacy in favor of the immigrant community at a Dodgers game. 

During the summer, she participated with her father in a protest demanding ICE out of L.A. and learned that her favorite baseball team, the Dodgers, was not doing enough for the immigrant community. Data shows that at least 40% of the Dodger fan base is Latino. 

Therefore, when her cheerleading team, the L.A. Rams Junior Cheerleaders, was invited to participate in a Dodgers pre-game show on Sept. 21, Valentina was torn, said her father Raul Claros.

“She didn't know what to do, and I told her that leadership takes tough decisions,” said Claros. “So she found a good compromise; that she would be there with her team, but then that she would leave in solidarity with the Latino community.”

Claros said she didn’t get in trouble with her team because the performance wasn’t really a free invite. Each parent had to pay for their entrance and their children’s entrance.

Her sentiment towards immigration 

Valentina is a third-generation Dodger fan and a second-generation child of U.S.-born citizens. 

Claros said when his daughter saw singer Nezza advocating for her Latino community by singing the U.S. National Anthem in Spanish at Dodgers Stadium in mid-June, Valentina asked what was going on. 

“I educated her that the Spanish version was appropriate,” Claros said. 

In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt permitted a Spanish translation of the Star-Spangled Banner called El Pendón Estrellado, as part of his Good Neighbor Policy with Latin America. 

Therefore, Valentina started paying more attention to the turmoil and the backlash the Dodgers received after it was reported that Nezza had been told not to sing in Spanish, or the many families being separated because of the massive raids. 

“As parents, we try to just have our kids go to school and shelter. But for Valentina, because of the work that I do as her dad, as an activist, as an organizer, she does get exposed to this [topic],” he said.

Her demands

Valentina, who is in the fourth grade, said she enjoys cheerleading a lot and being with her team. She hopes to continue this sport in the years to come.

However, boycotting the Dodgers at this moment, for her, is the right thing to do. 

“I feel that if I want to be a leader, I have to do this,” she said. 

With her limited knowledge, she said it hurts to know that President Donald Trump is sending ICE to L.A. and people are protesting these actions.

“[The Trump administration] is taking away immigrants,” she said.

Valentina said she hasn’t met anyone personally affected by the raids, but she still protested the Dodgers because she feels they have to do better when donating to the immigrant community.

“They gave $1 million and we need more, like $10 million, to help us fight and clean up the streets,” she said. 

At this point, Valentina’s demands are clear. 

“The Dodgers need to do better,” she said. 

It’s not enough to donate money, but also to show where it is going and speak up in favor of a community that has given the team so much money and support every time they attend a game.

Valentina’s family collectively decided not to support the Dodgers until they speak up and she said she will continue advocating for her Latino community. 

CALÓ News reached out to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who refused to comment.