July 5, 2025
America First Legal, a conservative legal group co-founded by Miller, has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Los Angeles Dodgers, accusing them of “apparently engaging in unlawful discrimination under the guise of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
America First Legal, a conservative legal group co-founded by Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Los Angeles Dodgers, accusing them of “apparently engaging in unlawful discrimination under the guise of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Despite this, the Dodgers have also faced criticism for their lack of concrete actions supporting immigrants as ICE raids roiled Los Angeles in June.
According to The Athletic, the complaint against the popular Major League Baseball franchise was filed on June 30 with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, nearly two weeks after the Dodgers indicated that they refused to allow Immigration Customs and Enforcement to access the team’s parking lots.
Miller is widely regarded as the leading architect of immigration policy during the Trump administration, which, under his influence, implemented stricter enforcement measures, including increased detention and deportation of immigrants, along with efforts to challenge birthright citizenship policies that have been in place since their establishment following the abolition of slavery.
Although the complaint focused on the organization’s efforts to increase diversity, America First Legal (AFL) also mentioned the situation between the Dodgers and ICE in its own press release about the lawsuit.
In its lawsuit, AFL referred to a page from the Dodgers website that says part of the team’s mission with its diversity initiatives is to “create a culture where diverse voices and experiences are valued,” and on the same page, the organization also outlined its efforts to recruit women and people of color, as well as efforts to partner with community groups that support racial and social justice and to promote heritage events for fans and staff.
According to the complaint, “The DEI mission statement indicates that the Dodgers are incorporating DEI into its workplace in quantifiable ways with identifiable goals to achieve ‘success,’ which appears to entail engaging in unlawful discriminatory hiring, training, and recruitment.”
However, although his organization is one of many who have called on the Dodgers to do more for immigrants who are under attack, Jared Rivera, the chief of staff of Pico California, indicated that the attack from America First Legal is nothing more than vengeance cosplaying as legal action.
“Stephen Miller’s group is dressing up vengeance as legal action,” Rivera told The Athletic. “Retaliating against the Dodgers for their compassion shows Miller is threatened when the team and its fans stand up for what is moral and right.”
In addition to Rivera, Calvin Abbasai, the director of narrative and communications for Pico California, a faith-based community organizing network, also issued a statement criticizing the actions of Miller’s group.
“Seeing America First Legal — Stephen Miller’s group — attack the Dodgers for promoting diversity is a chilling display of power wielded against inclusion. The Dodgers did what was right, refusing to let ICE into their stadium and supporting immigrant families. Now they’re facing retaliation from an administration that wants to punish institutions that uphold shared humanity. At PICO California, we stand with those who choose courage over fear. This investigation is not about legal nuance — it’s about what kind of moral vision gets punished and whose values get sidelined. When teams that lift up communities are targeted, it isn’t about compliance — it’s about control,” Abbasai told The Los Angeles Times.
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