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Los Angeles Dodgers Deny ICE Agents Entry Into Stadium 

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The Los Angeles Dodgers said this week that they denied US Immigration Enforcement (ICE) Agents access into the parking lot of Dodgers Stadium. 

“This morning, ICE agents came to Dodger Stadium and requested permission to access the parking lots,” the team posted to their social media. 

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“They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization. Tonight’s game will be played as scheduled.”

Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said that ICE agents “were never there. This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. CBP vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement.”

Immigrant communities in Los Angeles have been on high alert as of late as homeland security and ICE agents have begun raiding workplaces, public parking lots, and more as they search for undocumented individuals. 

Since LA has been such a major target as of late, Dodgers stadium began responding to rumors of raids as the team has a large Latino fanbase, which could make them a potential target. 

Several local LA journalists this week have observed and reported dozens of DHS vehicles with masked officers near the stadium, and the agents refused to comment on why they were there when asked by a Los Angeles Times reporter. 

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One source told the LA Times reporter that the federal agents were meeting near the stadium for a briefing and left once they noticed an increased presence of reporters and photographers that were immediately posting the meetings on social media. 

“Ice agents are taking up positions at the entrances to Dodger Stadium, media and crowd beginning to arrive,” Kevin Takumi, a videographer and photographer for Fox’s Los Angeles affiliate, wrote. Takumi posted a video online showing several vans and SUVs.

Jack Harris, the Dodgers beat writer for the Los Angeles Times, said: “Regarding the photos going around on social media this morning about ICE agents at Dodger Stadium: sources say ICE agents tried to access Dodger Stadium today, but were denied entry to the grounds by the team.”

“Ice agents attempted to access Dodger Stadium this morning but were denied by the Dodgers. Images had circulated this morning of agents appearing to use the parking lots as a staging area,” Fabian Ardaya, a journalist who covers the Dodgers for The Athletic, wrote.

Eunisses Hernandez, an LA city council member, said: “We’ve been in communication with the mayor’s office, with the Dodgers, with Dodgers security, about seeing if they can get them moved off their private property.”

“Public property is different. Private property – businesses and corporations have the power to say, ‘Not on my property’. And so we’re waiting to see that movement happen here.”

On phone

By Removing Police-Tracking App, Apple Sides with China Over Hong Kong Protestors

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On Wednesday, Apple removed an app designed to track police officers called HKmap.live from its App Store in a controversial move that is raising questions about the company’s commitment to the principles of freedom and democracy. HKmap.live was available on the App Store for just days before it was removed on the basis that it violated local laws and enabled protestors to attack the police in Hong Kong. The move came in the wake of intense criticism from state-run Chinese media, as the People’s Daily, a flagship newspaper run by the Chinese Communist Party, accused Apple of helping “rioters.” Apple gave a statement justifying its removal of the app, saying it had been used “to target and ambush police, threaten public safety, and criminals have used it to victimize residents in areas where they know there is no law enforcement.”

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As China forms one of the most important markets for Apple and other technology companies, navigating the politics of the pro-democracy protests which have only intensified over the past several months presents a difficult situation. Companies like Apple generally strive to avoid giving the appearance of supporting or opposing political causes, though the company notes that principles like enabling private communication and protecting the security of their users’ personal data are foundational in the design of their products. However, when operating in countries that impose restrictions on human rights as a matter of law like China, Apple and other companies are often forced to make decisions that have inherently political ramifications as they balance their profit motive against the fundamental rights of their customers. Given the unprecedented intensity of the ongoing Hong Kong protests, the reluctant political involvement of large corporations has perhaps never been as consequential as it is at this juncture.

Other companies have also been drawn into the political minefield that arises when operating in China during the Hong Kong protests. An executive of the Houston Rockets tweeted his support of the protests this week, for instance, leading to an apology by the Rockets and the cancellation of broadcasts of N.B.A. games in China, one of their largest markets. And the video game company Blizzard recently banned a professional gamer who expressed support of democracy in Hong Kong during a company-sponsored livestream, forcing him to forfeit $10,000 in prize money and leading to an outcry from the gaming community and an employee walkout at Blizzard offices. The ban was necessary in order for the company to comply with China’s censorship laws, even though it plainly contradicted the company’s core values. By continuing to operate in China under their strict anti-free-speech laws, companies like Blizzard tacitly support a totalitarian regime, as withdrawing their business in China would put economic and political pressure on the Chinese government to loosen restrictions on free speech.

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Of all the companies affected in this way by the ongoing political turmoil in China, perhaps none have a more direct and significant impact on policy than Apple. As one of the world’s largest smartphone manufacturers which serves more than 243 million customers in China, Apple is uniquely positioned to impact the flow of information within the authoritarian regime, particularly at a moment when that information threatens the very foundation of the country’s rule over its citizens. Though the Chinese internet is heavily censored, with a variety of social media apps banned and replaced by alternatives managed by the government, Apple nevertheless has some degree of leverage in the form of its software offerings to the Chinese people. As such, the backlash against the company for its latest capitulation to the regime is hard for the company’s socially conscious customers around the world to ignore.

However, the Chinese market remains fairly critical to Apple’s success as a whole, as the company exploits cheap labor in the country to manufacture its products at a competitive price and the Chinese consumer base is the company’s second-largest market. Furthermore, Apple has only recently begun to make headway in the country, and its recent success in the stock market has been based on a belief in the success of continued expansion in this market. As such, it’s probably not reasonable to expect that Apple will sacrifice the economic opportunity presented in China by strengthening its support of human rights with its technology, despite the international outcry. That being said, the company’s PR efforts to depict itself as friendly to human rights is likely to ramp up in the coming weeks in response to the public damage to its image caused by its complacency in the ongoing political crisis. 

Protests

Escalation of Protests Threatens Citizen Unity in Hong Kong

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Pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong have been ongoing for several months now, and show no signs of stopping, as government officials continue to push back against protestors’ demands and demonstrations only escalate in size and frequency. The protracted duration of these protests, however, is leading to a fracturing among activist groups, as some protestors are changing their tactics in response to continued inaction from elected officials and China. Incidences of property destruction and even violence are becoming more frequent as some activists see this behavior as a necessary response to a realization that peaceful protests have not been effective. However, not all protestors are onboard with this approach, as many activists continue to insist upon continuation of non-violent civil disobedience. As such, there exists a divide in the philosophical approach of Hong Kong activists, and while the two factions tolerate each other’s tactics for the moment, the lack of unity among protestors threatens the movement overall.

It’s worth noting that the majority of violence during Hong Kong protests comes from the local police, who use rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse what they call “riots.” Though Hong Kong is generally considered safe, with low rates of violent crime, increasing amounts of violence during protests make visiting Hong Kong currently a dangerous proposition. Police action against protestors is non-lethal, but water cannons and other methods of crowd control still have potential to cause serious injury. Additionally, protest leaders are at risk of being jailed, leading protestors to use encrypted apps like Telegram to communicate and organize, and causing protestors to adopt a more decentralized approach. While this approach makes it harder for the Hong Kong and Chinese governments to stop protests, it can also lead to a divergence of tactics among protestors, as some protestors prefer a more destructive approach than others.

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These protestors commit acts such as using makeshift battering rams to break into legislative buildings, destroying computers and vandalizing the walls with graffiti. Additionally, protestors have moved from throwing umbrellas and water bottles at police to throwing bricks and Molotov cocktails, in addition to petrol bombs. Protestors who resort to these tactics view them as a necessary evil, and consider their actions non-lethal and a response to the escalation of violence committed first by police. Angry mobs of protestors have even gone so far as to detain Chinese officials, and prevent ambulances from providing first-aid to injured people. Police, on the other hand, have claimed that they don’t resort to violence unless it is initiated by protestors, but in the chaos and confusion of a violent protest it can be hard to determine who is at fault for initiating dangerous and harmful conduct.

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A survey conducted by Chinese academics in June indicated that roughly half of protestors felt that non-violent protests were no longer effective. Now, after several months have passed and the government has not budged, that percentage is even higher, even though protestors who favor violence threaten to alienate their fellow pro-democracy citizens. Many of the protestors are students and young people, who are more prone to engaging in reckless behavior and endangering their own safety and the safety of others. But young people also have the most to lose if protests are not successful, as control of Hong Kong is set to return to Beijing in 2047, when these teenagers will still be fairly young.

Protestors have adopted various elements of popular culture as symbols to express their discontent. A phrase from the popular Hunger Games series of books, “if we burn, you burn with us,” has been used to describe the philosophy of many protestors, who feel that maintaining their freedom is so important that it is worth risking destruction. A popular meme references Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” series of films, where the word “bill” is a pun referring to the controversial extradition bill which initiated the recent protests in Hong Kong. And protestors in the streets have sung the song “Do You Hear the People Sing,” featured in the musical Les Miserables.