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Mexico's president calls for no ICE raids during Mexico-Dominican Republic soccer match

Sport

Mexico's president calls for no ICE raids during Mexico-Dominican Republic soccer match
Sport

Sport

Mexico's president calls for no ICE raids during Mexico-Dominican Republic soccer match

2025-06-14 07:15 Last Updated At:07:21

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged U.S. officials on Friday not to target individuals attending a Gold Cup soccer match in Los Angeles between the Mexican national team and the Dominican Republic.

Dozens of workers have been detained by federal immigration authorities in a series of raids in LA’s fashion district and at Home Depot parking lots in Southern California. More than 100 people have been detained.

“We don’t believe that there will be any raids if there’s a soccer game,” Sheinbaum said in a news conference. “We hope there won’t be any. We call for no action from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

Mexico is scheduled to play the Dominican Republic on Saturday night at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, in a group stage match of the Gold Cup.

Usually, the Mexican national team matches attract thousands of fans whenever they play in Southern California. Their last match there was in March, when more than 50,000 fans attended a League of Nations semifinal against Canada.

In the most recent measure in the administration’s immigration crackdown, President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops and Marines to the Los Angeles area after the raids sparked days of tumultuous protests throughout the city. The city’s downtown has seen a variety of protests, from quiet to boisterous. Over the weekend, protesters blocked a key freeway and set cars on fire.

For safety concerns, the Mexican national team decided to change hotels earlier in the week and moved from downtown to Long Beach.

Sheinbaum also said that the Mexican consulates in the United States have implemented an information campaign guide for Mexicans in the event of unjust detention by immigration authorities.

“This campaign we are carrying out through the consulates will provide all the information on what to do if detained, as well as ongoing contact with families,” the Sheinbaum said.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Protesters gather outside the Delaney Hall Detention Facility during protests over federal immigration enforcement raids on Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Olga Fedorova)

Protesters gather outside the Delaney Hall Detention Facility during protests over federal immigration enforcement raids on Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Olga Fedorova)

State Sen. Dan McKeon tearfully announced his resignation from the Nebraska Legislature on Tuesday ahead of scheduled debate to expel him from the body after accusations that he made a sexually charged comment to a legislative staffer and touched her inappropriately during a session-end party last year.

McKeon, a Republican from rural south-central Nebraska who had served only a year before his resignation, announced his resignation and apologized on the legislative floor just minutes before debate that would certainly have included harsh condemnation of McKeon.

“My words and actions were careless, regardless of the intent,” McKeon said. “I accept my responsibility for the impact of my words and my actions.”

“This past year has humbled me. It requires reflection, listening and learning. Accountability is not only acknowledging my mistake but committing to grow from it. I take that responsibility seriously,” McKeon said, his voice cracking.

His demeanor was a departure from what many of his fellow lawmakers found to be a defiant and flippant attitude toward the accusations leading up to his resignation. McKeon's exit came a day after the 10-member Executive Board, the body's governing board, voted unanimously to forward a motion to expel McKeon to the full Legislature for a vote.

The unprecedented move followed a complaint from the staffer who works for another lawmaker that McKeon approached her and another aide during a May 29 party and engaged in small talk about everyone's vacation plans. The woman said McKeon told her she should “get laid” on her vacation and patted her on her buttocks. McKeon has countered that he “made a bad pun," telling the woman she and her spouse should “go to Hawaii and enjoy a Hawaiian lei,” according to McKeon's attorney.

McKeon also countered that he patted the staffer on the back and may have accidentally brushed her rear end, but insists that if he did, it was unintentional.

McKeon's departure comes as more attention has focused on sexual harassment within state legislatures nationwide — including in Nebraska. The accusations against McKeon came about 15 months after the body was thrown in chaos when another Republican state lawmaker, former Sen. Steve Halloran, read a graphic account of rape from a bestselling memoir on the floor of the Legislature in which he repeatedly invoked the name of a fellow lawmaker, making it appear as if that lawmaker was the subject of the assault.

An outside investigation found that Halloran had violated the body’s workforce sexual harassment policy, and the Legislature's governing Executive Board issued him a letter of reprimand. But that action was met with strong criticism from several lawmakers who said Halloran should have faced a censure vote by the full body. Halloran left office in January 2025 due to term limits.

This time around, the Executive Board took a harder stance after a several lawmakers and another outside investigation found that McKeon had a history of making inappropriate comments and jokes during his time in the Legislature. The investigator also found that McKeon ignored a directive by the Executive Board's chairman not to attend events where staffers would be, showing up that same day at another party attended by the woman who filed the complaint against him.

The investigator also found that a text McKeon sent to another staffer who shares an office with the woman, in which he said she “seems to be difficult to work with,” could constitute retaliation against her.

The report determined that McKeon’s conduct did not rise to a level of sexual harassment or retaliation actionable under state or federal discrimination law, but that it did violate the Nebraska Legislature’s workplace harassment policy.

McKeon becomes at least the 57th state lawmaker in the nation to leave office via expulsion or resignation since 2017 following sexual misconduct allegations.

He also faces a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace after a Nebraska State Patrol investigation into his interaction with the staffer last May. McKeon has pleaded not guilty to that charge and is set to appear in court on Jan. 26.

State sen. Daniel McKeon sits during the first day of Nebraska's 2026 legislative session, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Neb. (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

State sen. Daniel McKeon sits during the first day of Nebraska's 2026 legislative session, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Neb. (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

State Sen. Daniel McKeon takes notes during the first day of Nebraska's 2026 legislative session, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Neb. (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

State Sen. Daniel McKeon takes notes during the first day of Nebraska's 2026 legislative session, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Neb. (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

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