The National Day Laborer Organizing Network—an immigrant rights group—has petitioned the Los Angeles Dodgers to boycott the traditional White House visit following their World Series victory.

In doing so, the group made it clear that they are unable to distinguish between legal immigration and illegal immigration. And knowing that distinction is really half the battle.

“The Los Angeles Dodgers have always been more than a baseball team — they’re part of the spirit of who we are as a city. The team represents our neighborhoods, our families, and our shared love for our diverse communities,” the group wrote in an online petition.

“But right now, our community, our city are under siege, we need them to stand with us, on the right side of history.”

The petition, thus far, has fizzled out with just over 9,000 signatures.

Trump invites the Los Angeles Dodgers to his house

First off, your city isn’t under siege any more than a bank is under siege when police show up as it’s being robbed. Second, if your “community” consists of the violent criminals roaming the streets of LA, then you need to clean up your “community.”

For the sake of the legal immigrants, getting a bad name due to the lawbreakers.

It’s rich that the image attached to that petition is a cartoon of Fernando Valenzuela being hauled away in handcuffs. Valenzuela was not an illegal immigrant.

He entered the United States legally in 1979 at the age of 18, having signed a professional contract with the Dodgers, which granted him a work visa as an international athlete. He lived as a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) for 35 years before becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2015.

That said, it seems unlikely that the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to skip a White House visit when more and more sports teams are finding President Trump more palatable these days. He did win the popular vote, after all.

Not to mention, the team visited Trump last year without much of an issue. We’re sure there might be a straggler or two on the team who wants to draw attention to themselves by not visiting, but by and large, the team will almost assuredly make the trip.

It’s a celebration of back-to-back World Series wins, a rare feat, at the home of the leader of the free world.

“Congratulations to the L.A. Dodgers, a game won by incredible CHAMPIONS!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social after the Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays. “A lesser group of men would never have been able to win that game, or game 6, for that matter. So many stars made it all happen.”

“Also, congratulations to ownership. What a great job they have done. SEE YOU ALL AT THE WHITE HOUSE!!!”

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The previous visit

Last year’s visit with President Trump went perfectly fine for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Smiles were all around. Trump, at one point, received a “47” jersey from Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

The President also praised Shohei Ohtani, who was the National League MVP in 2024 and is likely to retain that title this year, for his numerous baseball accomplishments and “movie star” looks. 

“It’s a great honor, you’re an amazing athlete and person,” Trump told Ohtani.

That’s the thing. It’s not just a great honor for the president. It’s a great honor for the players as well.

And the Los Angeles Dodgers shouldn’t be pressured into not accepting an invite just because some obscure group wants to make a name for themselves.