This Independence Day was supposed to be a celebration. But at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif., it seemed instead like the beginning of another revolution.

The Los Angeles Galaxy, one of the city’s two Major League Soccer franchises, was hosting its first home game in weeks. What is typically the most well-attended game featured quietly empty blue and yellow chairs littered across the stadium. Less quietly, the Angel City Brigade (ACB) and Los Angeles Riot Squad (LARS), two of the club’s largest supporters’ groups, filled out their sections almost entirely.

While the players arranged themselves in their formations for kickoff after the national anthem on this all-American holiday, the groups unfurled their tifos, revealing massive flags and painted canvases, all responding to the deployment of immigration officials in Los Angeles.

Photo by Laura Pylvänäinen

“Fight Ignorance, Not Immigrants.”

“WE LIKE OUR WHISKEY NEAT AND OUR LAND & PEOPLE FREE.”

“AEG LOVES IMMIGRANT DOLLARS BUT NOT IMMIGRANTS.”

As the supporters’ groups rolled up their banners and walked out of the stadium, with some electing to stay behind, seated and mute, the silence became deafening.

The Independence Day walkout was but one of a series of ways that Los Angeles soccer fans have been speaking up in the face of the immigration raids that began in early June. Given that local clubs feature a heavily Latino fan base, many supporters and their families have been deeply impacted.

This summer, FIFA’s Club World Cup and CONCACAF’s Gold Cup featured matches at venues across the greater Los Angeles area. And with the FIFA Men’s World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics on the horizon, international soccer has been brought to the local stage at a time when the city’s immigrant population has been struggling.

Two Los Angeles-based soccer organizations, Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC), have made statements indicating their empathy for those individuals. The Galaxy has not.

Fearing violence, deportation, or worse, some fans have gone into hiding. But others are standing proud.

“I grew up having to fight before I even learned how to tie my shoelace, and that's a fact,” said Nuria Ortiz, an artist who goes by the handle Ms. Yellow. “So half of me feels anger, sadness, like, emotional.”

Ortiz had been attending protests in downtown Los Angeles. She found an outlet for her anger: a mural titled “Fuerza Raza.” The piece was painted on boards put up in anticipation of protests in downtown Los Angeles and was accompanied by a message for those who Ortiz found culpable: “And for those in all levels of government in compliance with this terror... Your employment is temporary but your DIGNITY is forever.”

Waiting for the start of the Galaxy’s match against D.C. United, Ortiz’s anger was turning to heartbreak.

“Half of me is upset because I'm not hearing anything from these teams that we love,” she said. “The other half of me, which is the professional artist, knows that these are businesses and corporations that don't give a fuck about us.”

Signs of protest were visible in the parking lots outside the Galaxy’s stadium that evening as well. Jeff Cordes, a season ticket holder since 1996, flew a series of flags above his tailgate, including one reading, “HATE WILL NOT MAKE US GREAT.”

“There are other teams in the area that have come out and made statements in support of the immigrant community that makes up a large part of the fan base, and AEG did not do that,” Cordes said, referring to Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Galaxy and has stakes in other local sports franchises.

“I just wanted to do this to show that we don't all feel like that,” Cordes added. “I'm a white, old guy, and I still feel that hate, no matter what form, whatever political party, is just not necessary.”

As the silence from the Galaxy continued, the resistance from the fans grew. On July 16, the supporters’ sections were virtually empty as the club hosted Austin FC. Protests were organized outside the stadium’s west gate entrance, with fans hoisting signs and chanting loud enough to be heard inside the venue.

That week, the Victoria Block supporters – consisting of ACB, LARS, and the Galaxians – declared that they would not attend the rivalry match against LAFC at BMO Stadium on July 19.

This year’s El Tráfico, it seemed, would be lacking its signature crosstown traffic.

Meanwhile, LAFC’s main supporter group, The 3252, was visibly present in the stands during its July matches. The collective held a silent protest at the team’s match against Sporting Kansas City on June 8 – the same day that LAFC issued a statement in English and Spanish emphasizing that “true strength of our community comes from the people and cultures that make up the tapestry of this beautiful and diverse city.” But by July 9, when LAFC took on the Colorado Rapids, the songs and chants were once again reverberating across BMO Stadium.

Many supporters were there for their club and for each other. But that did not mean they were not afraid.

“In here, I know I am safe; in here, I know I am protected,” LAFC fan Francisca Escobar said. “But once I step outside, it’s a different story.”

Other supporters felt that showing up was their way of standing their ground.

“It makes me feel like I'm holding my ground,” Dyana Soto said. “You know, I am Latina, and I'm proud to be Latina, and that's not going away anytime soon.”

Supporters have also been extending a lending hand to those in need through partnerships with clubs. Bethany Anderson, who is part of Relentless Ladies, an ACFC supporters’ group, is the Director of Camino Immigration Services. The non-profit is accredited by the Department of Justice to provide counseling services to those navigating the immigration process.

When Angel City sought an organization to receive the proceeds from the sales of its “Immigrant City Football Club” shirts, the club reached out to Camino on the recommendation of another supporter.

(Disclosure: Willow Bay, the controlling owner of Angel City Football Club, is also the Dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.)

1 / 6

Empty supporter section seats in Dignity Health Sports Park behind LA Galaxy's Julián Aude. Photo by Kendall Baldwin.

2 / 5

Fans on BMO Stadium's field. Photo by Kendall Baldwin.

3 / 5

A young LAFC fan watches the game. Photo by Kendall Baldwin.

4 / 5

Nuria Ortiz, the artist who goes by the handle Ms. Yellow. Photo by Kendall Baldwin.

5 / 5

A street food vendor outside of BMO Stadium. Photo by Kendall Baldwin.

❮ ❯

For Anderson, who was teargassed at a protest outside the Santa Ana Federal Building, the partnership provided hope during an otherwise trying time.

“It's just been so surreal to see players from the team that I admire talking about my organization and to see so many people share about the Immigrant City Football Club campaign – and people posting pictures with their shirt, tagging my organization,” Anderson said in an interview in early July.

Steven Levy Cruz, the Executive Director of Academia de Fútbol Juvenil Amatense (AFJA), has been raising funds through sales at his Pupusas for a Purpose stand at Galaxy matches. Recently, proceeds have gone to help those needing legal counseling on immigration-related matters, including one individual who was recently deported.

AFJA: Where Pitch Meets Purpose Through Pupusas

By Sarah Goldstein

Unlike other Galaxy fans, Cruz was not looking for the club to take the lead.

“The first reaction to me wasn't [that] the LA Galaxy needs to put out a statement,” Cruz said in an interview in late July. “My first concern was, how can we protect members of our community that are directly in danger?”

With the FIFA Men’s World Cup just a year away, it’s unclear when that danger will subside. According to NPR , The One Big Beautiful Bill contained an additional $75 billion for immigration enforcement and detention. On July 15, 2,000 National Guardsmen left Los Angeles, but a similar number remain in the city. While the frequency of raids and protests seems to have abated, the threat lingers.

Of all the franchises in Los Angeles, Angel City has been the most vocal in its support for the immigrant community. But its club officials were not sanguine about what lies ahead for its community.

“The 14th was a day, and I think what we did is we showed up on a day and created the beginning of something that will have impact,” said ACFC Vice President of Community Chris Fajardo, referring to the launch date of the Immigrant City Football Club campaign. “And this isn't over; it's not just a moment. And I think that's the reality – we're still in it.”