Gloria Jiménez and Bruce Martin, leaders of a Galaxy supporter group known as the Angel Metropolis Brigade, are sure that is no time to be quiet.
Since its founding in 2007, the Angel Metropolis Brigade, one of many Galaxy’s largest fan teams, has made its voice heard in sections 121 and 122 of Dignity Well being Sports activities Park in Carson.
On Friday, throughout the sometimes festive Fourth of July fireworks sport, Galaxy supporter teams expressed their frustration and anger over seeing Southern California’s Latino group focused by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in latest weeks.
The followers say they’re upset by the Galaxy administration’s silence amid ICE’s presence within the Latino group. Nearly all of Galaxy followers are Latino, however the staff has not issued any statements in help of followers, remaining as quiet because the Dodgers till the MLB staff felt stress and made a $1-million donation to learn households impacted by the raids.
The Galaxy and representatives of the groups’ supporter teams have held closed-door talks, nevertheless it didn’t result in a public statements by the membership. Earlier than the match in opposition to the Whitecaps on Thursday outdoors the stadium, Angel Metropolis Brigade displayed indicators that learn “Stop the Raids,” “Free Soil” and “No One is Illegal.”
On the finish of the nationwide anthem, “Victoria Block,” the part the place a lot of the Galaxy’s fan teams stand, unfurled a tifo with three photos: a farm employee; Roy Benavidez, a U.S. Military Medal of Honor recipient; and Elena Rios, president of the Nationwide Hispanic Well being Basis. On the backside, the banner learn: “Fight Ignorance, Not Immigrants.”
Members of the Angel Metropolis Brigade, together with Gloria Jiménez, heart, protest ICE raids in Southern California throughout the Galaxy’s sport in opposition to Vancouver on Friday at Dignity Well being Sports activities Park in Carson.
(Jill Connelly/Especial para LA Instances en Español)
Throughout the twelfth minute of the match, the Angel Metropolis Brigade left the stands in protest. Supporter teams the Galaxians and Galaxy Outlawz protested silently, carrying no drums or trumpets. Additionally they didn’t sing or chant throughout the sport.
“What’s going on in Los Angeles has nothing to do with the players. They know that. What’s going on in Los Angeles we don’t like,” Manuel Martínez, chief of the Galaxy Outlawz, mentioned earlier than the match. “I belong to a family of immigrants who became citizens. So we know the struggle that people go through. We know that there are hard-working, innocent workers out there.”
The Riot Squad, on the opposite aspect of the stadium, additionally remained silent and displayed a message that learn: “We like our Whiskey Neat, and our Land and People Free.”
Members of the Angel Metropolis Brigade maintain up an indication that reads “Smash Ice” throughout the Galaxy’s match in opposition to Vancouver on Friday at Dignity Well being Sports activities Park in Carson.
(Jill Connelly/Especial para LA Instances en Español)
This isn’t the primary time Galaxy fan teams have taken motion once they had been sad with staff administration.
Angel Metropolis Brigade, together with different teams equivalent to LA Riot Squad, Galaxy Outlawz and the Galaxians, led boycotts whereas demanding the removing of then-team president Chris Klein following mismanagement and choices they felt didn’t make the staff aggressive sufficient to win. Their effort paid off: Klein stepped down and new administration finally led the membership to its sixth MLS championship secured on the finish of final season.
On Friday, along with issuing an announcement reaffirming their “non-discriminatory principles, which oppose exclusion and prejudice based on race, origin, gender identity, sexuality or gender expression,” the followers determined to arrange a fundraiser to help pro-immigrant organizations affected by the Trump administration’s finances cuts: Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), Border Kindness and Immigrant Defenders Regulation Middle.
To boost funds, they offered T-shirts with a picture of a protester in Chinatown confronting an ICE agent.
Angel Metropolis Brigade & Galaxians are staging a walkout throughout tonight’s match vs Vancouver within the twelfth min, with their staff main 1-0. The teams are protesting the LA Galaxy administration’s silence within the wake of latest ICE raids, citing the shortage of help for his or her group pic.twitter.com/yuxcTESzAi
— Eduard Cauich (@MayanTiger1) July 5, 2025
“This is our way of showing that we want to help, and to fight what’s going on,” mentioned Martin, a Los Angeles native.
The T-shirt gross sales raised $4,000 for the three organizations.
Beforehand, Angel Metropolis Brigade, like different Galaxy supporter teams, determined to not journey to the June 28 highway match in opposition to the Earthquakes in San José as a precaution in opposition to the raids. About 600 Galaxy followers sometimes attend the highway match.
“We have members who have not been able to work. We have members who have not been able to go out to games or attend events. San José would have been one of them,” Jiménez mentioned. “We decided that as a group, we couldn’t travel without leaving our brothers and sisters here. So in solidarity with the people who can’t attend because of fear of what’s going on, we decided to cancel the event.”
Whereas the opposite two skilled soccer groups in Los Angeles — LAFC and Angel Metropolis FC — have issued public statements in help of the Latino immigrant group, the Galaxy’s possession has not addressed the difficulty. Angel Metropolis took its help additional, sporting “Immigrant City Football Club” warm-up shirts, giving some shirts away to followers and promoting extra on its web site as a fundraiser to help a company that gives authorized help for immigrants.
To this point, the one member of the Galaxy who has addressed the difficulty publicly is head coach Greg Vanney.
“I think we all know someone who is probably affected by what’s going on, so it’s hard from a human standpoint not to have compassion for the families and those who are affected by what’s going on,” Vanney mentioned earlier than a sport in opposition to St. Louis Metropolis SC in June.
“We have to really help each other, versus expecting others to do it,” Jiménez mentioned. “That the support didn’t come from our team, as we expected, broke our hearts into a thousand pieces.”
Prior to now, the Galaxy and supporter teams have collaborated whereas celebrating varied Latin American international locations, incorporating their cultural symbols into staff merchandise. However amid the Galaxy’s silence, followers are beginning to doubt the sincerity of the cultural celebrations.
“It’s sad and disappointing to me. This team that has been in Los Angeles since the mid-1990s, and they’ve leveraged the culture for publicity. When they signed [Mexican soccer star] Chicharito for example, they were strong on Mexican culture and things like that. So when this all started, you would think that they would be for their culture, that they would be there for the fans,” Jiménez mentioned. “And by not saying anything, it doesn’t say that they really care about it. Families are being torn apart and they just stay silent.”
Jiménez mentioned there isn’t a day that goes by that she doesn’t cry or really feel anger concerning the ICE raids.
“We already know what we are to them, we are not friends or family,” she mentioned of the Galaxy. “We are fans and franchise.”
Martin mentioned he has obtained messages on social media, together with from Galaxy followers and supporters of different groups, criticizing his stance. Nonetheless, Angel Metropolis Brigade mentioned its members made a unanimous determination to protest.
“We have always had moments where we have a very clear vision about how we feel,” Jiménez mentioned. “And I think this is one of the times when everyone has made the same decision.”
Galaxy followers plan to stage extra protests throughout the staff’s subsequent house match.
This text first appeared in Spanish through L.A. Instances en Español.
