Immigration agents sought access to Dodger Stadium grounds ahead of a game, the team said. Los Angeles has been a primary site of clashes over enforcement.

The Los Angeles Dodgers blocked federal immigration agents from accessing Dodger Stadium parking lots Thursday, the team said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied having agents at the stadium, while the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that Customs and Border Protection vehicles were present.

“This morning, ICE agents came to Dodger Stadium and requested permission to access the parking lots,” the Dodgers wrote on social media Thursday afternoon. “They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization. Tonight’s game will be played as scheduled.”

In a social media post, the Department of Homeland Security said the incident “had nothing to do with the Dodgers.” Customs and Border Protection vehicles “were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement,” the DHS said.

ICE called the statement from the Dodgers “false,” writing in a post on X, “We were never there.”

Local media reported that protesters arrived at the stadium after accounts of immigration agents near the parking lot had circulated on social media. Armed agents with covered faces stood near unmarked SUVs outside the stadium lot, the Los Angeles Times reported. Local police eventually arrived, and the agents drove off.

In an emailed statement, the Los Angeles Police Department said its role “was limited to facilitating the safe departure of the vehicles from the area.”

“This is another example of the federal administration doing everything in their power to strike fear and hurt hardworking families,” said Diana Crofts-Pelayo, director of communications for California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).

The move from the Dodgers marks the latest confrontation between federal agents and a city that has faced unrest over recent immigration enforcement raids. ICE agents this month began detaining people in downtown Los Angeles, prompting week-long demonstrations punctuated by images of flames and destruction in the area. Law enforcement fired tear gas canisters and rubber bullets into crowds of protesters, at times hitting journalists. Newsom and President Donald Trump publicly clashed over the protests, with the governor accusing the Trump administration of illegally and unilaterally deploying the National Guard.

ICE has been under pressure from the White House to increase immigration arrests in an effort to fulfill Trump’s pledge to carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in U.S. history. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, an architect of the president’s hard-line immigration policy, said last month that the administration wants ICE to conduct a minimum of 3,000 arrests a day. Trump border czar Tom Homan told The Washington Post in an interview last week that arrests had increased to about 2,000 a day.

Los Angeles County has seen an influx of immigration agents in recent weeks. The city of Glendale said in a post on X on Thursday that officials were aware of “ICE activity” in the area.

The Dodgers were expected to announce plans to assist immigrant communities in L.A. on Thursday, the Los Angeles Times had reported.

Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts addressed the Los Angeles protests during a news conference last week, saying, “When you’re having to bring people in and, you know, deport people and just kind of all the unrest, it’s certainly unsettling for everyone.”

Dodgers player Kiké Hernández wrote on Instagram last week that he is “saddened and infuriated by what’s happening in our country and our city.”

“This is my second home. And I cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart. ALL people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and human rights,” wrote Hernandez, who is from Puerto Rico. He punctuated his post with #CityOfImmigrants.

On Saturday, singer and influencer Nezza sang the national anthem in Spanish before a Dodgers home game while wearing a Dominican Republic shirt. She said on social media that an employee of the baseball team had told her to sing it in English but she ultimately disregarded the instruction.

“This is my moment to show everyone that I am with them that we have a voice and with everything that’s happening it’s not OK,” she told the Associated Press. “I’m super proud that I did it. No regrets.”

The Dodgers are known to have a strong Latino contingent within their fan base, which many link to star Mexican pitcher Fernando Valenzuela. His unhittable screwball and big personality sparked “Fernandomania” as he won the National League’s Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards in 1981. Mexican American fans dubbed him “El Toro” — the bull — and played mariachi ballads to celebrate him, The Post wrote in his obituary last year.

The team is scheduled to face the San Diego Padres in Los Angeles on Thursday night.