Brett Davis-Imagn Images
With the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cracking down severely on immigrants, ending bond hearings for millions of immigrants, and deporting some of them to countries other than their country of origin, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) has warned its foreign players to carry their immigration documents with them at all times. The recent travel ban enacted by President Donald Trump, which could be expanded to 36 more countries, also reportedly played a part in the warning.
The MLBPA is concerned
“It is a concern,” The Athletic reports MLBPA director Tony Clark said on Tuesday. “It is challenging on multiple levels, but we continue to communicate with our guys and assure them, whether they’re at the minor-league level or at the major-league level, this is how best to protect yourself.”
Clark also revealed that the union, which has has immigration lawyers on staff, has told all international players to “carry their documentation wherever they go” to make sure they “keep their job.”
What the MLB commissioner thinks
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred doesn’t think it will be an issue, however, despite around 30 percent of MLB players on team’s opening day rosters (265 of them) being from countries other than the United States.
“When the administration first started talking about border issues and the fact that there was going to be limitations, we did have conversations with the administration,” Manfred said. “They assured us that there was going to be protections for our players, for example, going back and forth between the U.S. and Canada. They told us that was going to happen, that’s what happened.”
What the MLBPA said
Latino news outlet Our Esquina shared a video with portions of the the speech Tony Clark gave recently about the immigration crackdowns and roundups taking place throughout the country and how it could possibly affect players.
“We’re… trying to put them and equip them in the best position possible to navigate the atmosphere that we’re in in regards to immigration,” Clark said. “We communicate with our players, we told them to carry their documentation wherever they go, we ensure the lines of communications are open, such that if they are having an issue or a family member is having an issue, how best can we help support them?
“We’ve got immigration council and immigration lawyers on staff to provide support in a way that we have in the past, but not to the extent that we do now, in order to assure guys are in the best possible position to get to the ballpark and keep their job.”
Because of the immigration crackdowns throughout the country, Tony Clark, the executive director of the MLB Players’ Association, says the union encouraged their members to keep their documents with them. The union has multiple immigration lawyers available to consult. pic.twitter.com/XnksaJ6juT
— Our Esquina (@OurEsquina) July 15, 2025
“It is complicated, it is challenging on multiple levels, but we continue to communicate with our guys and assure them whether they’re at the minor league level or at the major league level, this is how best to protect yourself in the nearest term in carrying the documentation while having an open line of communication is what we’ve found has worked so far,” Clark continued.
One foreign player isn’t too worried
When asked if he has any concerns about the immigration crackdown affecting him or other foreign players, Detroit Tigers outfielder Wenceel Perez told the Detroit Free-Press, he said he wasn’t worried about being detained by authorities or arrested if he couldn’t quickly prove his residency status to authorities.
“I just, like, do what I have to show them, what they ask me,” he said. “But I don’t think I’m going to get in trouble because of that. I guess I’m going to tell that I’m a Tiger player. I hope they can release me.”