Like many children of Latino immigrants in Los Angeles, Juan grew up a Dodgers fan. He watched their baseball games from home when he was little – even though his parents, who are Guatemalan, were more interested in soccer and basketball – and has been to Dodger Stadium many times as an adult. He sports a Dodgers logo, among other symbols, on an elaborate tattoo on his left forearm.
These days, though, he’s not sure about his allegiance. Juan – whom the Guardian is only identifying by his first name amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown – saw his family ripped apart when his father, who had been in the US for close to 30 years, was plucked off the street last year and deported. From that moment on, a team that many immigrants in LA see as a symbol of integration and belonging became, for him, an organization unwilling to stand up for its large immigrant fanbase.
