Gloria Jim\u00e9nez and Bruce Martin, leaders of a Galaxy supporter group called the Angel City Brigade, are certain this is no time to be quiet.<\/p>\n
Since its founding in 2007, the Angel City Brigade, one of the Galaxy\u2019s largest fan groups, has made its voice heard in sections 121 and 122 of Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.<\/p>\n
On Friday, during the typically festive Fourth of July fireworks game, Galaxy supporter groups decided to express their frustration and anger over seeing Southern California\u2019s Latino community targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
The fans say they are upset by the Galaxy management\u2019s silence amid ICE\u2019s presence in the Latino community. The majority of Galaxy fans are Latino, but the team has not issued any statements in support of fans, remaining as quiet as the Dodgers until the MLB team felt pressure and made a $1 million donation to benefit families impacted by the raids.<\/p>\n
The Galaxy and representatives of the teams\u2019 supporter groups have held closed-door talks, but it didn\u2019t lead to a public statements by the club. Before the match against the Whitecaps on Thursday outside Dignity Health Sports Park, Angel City Brigade displayed signs that read \u201cStop the Raids,\u201d \u201cFree Soil\u201d and \u201cNo One is Illegal.<\/p>\n
At the end of the national anthem, \u201cVictoria Block,\u201d the section where most of the Galaxy\u2019s fan groups stand, unfurled a tifo with three images: a farm worker; Roy Benavidez, a U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient; and Elena Rios, president of the National Hispanic Health Foundation. At the bottom, the banner read: \u201cFight Ignorance, Not Immigrants.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Members of the Angel City Brigade, including Gloria Jim\u00e9nez, center, protest ICE raids in Southern California during the Galaxy\u2019s game against Vancouver on Friday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.<\/p>\n
(Jill Connelly\/Especial para LA Times en Espa\u00f1ol)<\/p>\n
During the 12th minute of the match, the Angel City Brigade left the stands in protest. Supporter groups the Galaxians and Galaxy Outlawz protested silently, carrying no drums or trumpets. They also did not sing or chant during the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s going on in Los Angeles has nothing to do with the players. They know that. What\u2019s going on in Los Angeles we don\u2019t like,\u201d Manuel Mart\u00ednez, leader of the Galaxy Outlawz, said before the match. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Riot Squad, on the other side of the stadium, also remained silent during and displayed a message that read: \u201cWe like our Whiskey Neat, and our Land and People Free.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Members of the Angel City Brigade hold up a sign that reads \u201cSmash Ice\u201d during the Galaxy\u2019s match against Vancouver on Friday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.<\/p>\n
(Jill Connelly\/Especial para LA Times en Espa\u00f1ol)<\/p>\n
This is not the first time Galaxy fan groups have taken action when they were unhappy team management.<\/p>\n
Angel City Brigade, along with other groups such as LA Riot Squad, Galaxy Outlawz and the Galaxians, led boycott while demanding the removal of then-team president Chris Klein following mismanagement and decisions they felt didn\u2019t make the team competitive enough to win. Their effort paid off: Klein stepped down and new management eventually led the club to its sixth MLS championship secured at the end of last season.<\/p>\n
On Friday, in addition to issuing a statement reaffirming their \u201cnon-discriminatory principles, which oppose exclusion and prejudice based on race, origin, gender identity, sexuality or gender expression,\u201d the fans decided to organize a fundraiser to support pro-immigrant organizations affected by the Trump administration\u2019s budget cuts: Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), Border Kindness and Immigrant Defenders Law Center.<\/p>\n
To raise funds, they sold T-shirts with an image of a protester in Chinatown confronting an ICE agent.<\/p>\n
\nAngel City Brigade & Galaxians are staging a walkout during tonight’s match vs Vancouver in the 12th min, with their team leading 1-0. The groups are protesting the LA Galaxy administration’s silence in the wake of recent ICE raids, citing the lack of support for their community pic.twitter.com\/yuxcTESzAi<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Eduard Cauich (@MayanTiger1) July 5, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cThis is our way of showing that we want to help, and to fight what\u2019s going on,\u201d said Martin, a Los Angeles native.<\/p>\n
The T-shirt sales raised $4,000 for the three organizations.<\/p>\n
Previously, Angel City Brigade, like other Galaxy supporter groups, decided not to travel to the June 28 road match against the Earthquakes in San Jos\u00e9 as a precaution against the raids. About 600 Galaxy fans typically attend the road match.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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 Jos\u00e9 would have been one of them,\u201d Jim\u00e9nez said. \u201cWe decided that as a group, we couldn\u2019t travel without leaving our brothers and sisters here. So in solidarity with the people who can\u2019t attend because of fear of what\u2019s going on, we decided to cancel the event.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the other two professional soccer teams in Los Angeles \u2014 LAFC and Angel City FC \u2014 have issued public statements in support of the Latino immigrant community, the Galaxy\u2019s ownership has not addressed the issue. Angel City took its support further, wearing \u201cImmigrant City Football Club\u201d warm-up shirts<\/a>, giving some shirts away to fans and selling more on its website as a fundraiser to support an organization that provides legal support for immigrants.<\/p>\n
So far, the only member of the Galaxy who has addressed the issue publicly is head coach Greg Vanney.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we all know someone who is probably affected by what\u2019s going on, so it\u2019s hard from a human standpoint not to have compassion for the families and those who are affected by what\u2019s going on,\u201d Vanney said prior to a game against St. Louis City SC in June.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to really help each other, versus expecting others to do it,\u201d Jim\u00e9nez said. \u201cThat the support didn\u2019t come from our team, as we expected, broke our hearts into a thousand pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the past, the Galaxy and supporter groups have collaborated while celebrating various Latin American countries, incorporating their cultural symbols into team merchandise. But amid the Galaxy\u2019s silence, fans are starting to doubt the sincerity of the cultural celebrations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s sad and disappointing to me. This team that has been in Los Angeles since the mid-1990s, and they\u2019ve 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,\u201d Jim\u00e9nez said. \u201cAnd by not saying anything, it doesn\u2019t say that they really care about it. Families are being torn apart and they just stay silent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jim\u00e9nez said there isn\u2019t a day that goes by that she doesn\u2019t cry or feel anger about the ICE raids.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already know what we are to them, we are not friends or family,\u201d she said of the Galaxy. \u201cWe are fans and franchise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin said he has received messages on social media, including from Galaxy fans and supporters of other teams, criticizing his stance. However, Angel City Brigade said its members made a unanimous decision to protest.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have always had moments where we have a very clear vision about how we feel,\u201d Jim\u00e9nez said. \u201cAnd I think this is one of the times when everyone has made the same decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Galaxy fans plan to stage more protests during the team\u2019s next home match.<\/p>\n
This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Espa\u00f1ol<\/a>.<\/p>\n