Will Trump try to deport Los Angeles Dodgers players?

About ten days ago, ICE agents supposedly tried to enter Dodger Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. The keyword is supposedly because the two sides have different stories. Here’s what the Dodger management said:

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

ICE responded short and simple: “Our agents were never there.”

So it was kind of a he said/she said thing. I guess who you believe may depend on where your political beliefs lie. And that probably would have been the end of it—at least until the next time ICE tried to enter the ballpark. But then the Dodgers doubled down.

The team made a one-million-dollar pledge in support of immigrants targeted by ICE! Understandably, the team has taken this stance. They have a huge Hispanic fan base, so naturally, they’re going to take this side versus the administration.

This story has gone on the back burner in the last few days, but don’t think for a minute that Donald Trump and his people have forgotten about it. They aren’t the type of people to let things go. Somewhere down the line, they will make a vindictive response.

I’m looking at the Dodgers’ team roster. They have players from Japan, Cuba, Venezuela, South Korea and the Dominican Republic. Yes, they all have work visas and are here playing baseball legally, but since when has that stopped Trump? Ask all the college students whose student visas may be revoked if going to school here legally matters.

What would make a bigger splash in their fight to deport immigrants than to send Shohei Otani back to Japan? Or, how about outfielder Andy Pages, who defected from Cuba at age sixteen to follow his dream of playing major league baseball? What kind of statement would sending him back to Cuba make?

I realize that under normal circumstances, these scenarios would be considered extremely far-fetched. But, these aren’t normal circumstances—far from it. We’re at a time where anything goes—including things that you never could imagine would occur in America. So, why not something as bizarre as the above?

I’ll be at Dodger Stadium next week to see the Dodgers play the Chicago White Sox. I hope Shohei and Andy will be there, too.