The Lakers are used to headlines tied to playoff pushes and free-agent swings. This week, however, one of the franchise’s minority owners found himself at the center of a far more political storm.

A reported $80 million property deal involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has drawn attention to billionaire developer Ed Roski Jr., whose firm, Majestic Realty, was listed as the broker for a vacant industrial facility in Hutchins, Texas.

ICE toured a 1.2 million-square-foot former Amazon warehouse in Hutchins in early February 2026. The property was listed for $80 million, and Majestic Realty was cited as the broker on the listing.

However, despite early reports suggesting a purchase, the Department of Homeland Security has since denied that a deal has been finalized. As of February 12, DHS stated there are no confirmed current plans to acquire the site. That distinction matters.

The speculation intensified because DHS recently completed two separate acquisitions: a $70 million facility in Arizona and a $102 million site in Maryland. Against that backdrop, the Hutchins listing drew immediate scrutiny, especially once Roski’s name surfaced through his company’s involvement.

While some outlets framed the Texas site as a completed $80 million ICE acquisition, independent confirmation of a finalized transaction has not surfaced. That gray area is precisely what has fueled online opposition and political backlash in the region.

Roski is not just another developer. According to Forbes, his net worth stands at approximately $6.7 billion, built largely through Majestic Realty’s 92 million square feet of industrial real estate nationwide.

He also helped lead the development of the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles and remains a minority owner of both the Lakers and the Kings. That connection elevates this story beyond standard real estate reporting.

Because of that visibility, even an indirect link to an ICE-related property listing becomes magnified. At the same time, Roski has not publicly commented on the matter, and Jacobin reported receiving no response from the realtor listed on the Hutchins address despite multiple outreach attempts.

Political context further complicates perception. Roski reportedly donated more than $200,000 combined to Trump-aligned political committees during the 2024 election cycle. While campaign contributions are separate from property transactions, they inevitably shape public interpretation of this situation.

Meanwhile, ICE’s broader activity has already sparked debate within the sports world. Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has previously criticized ICE operations, and analyst Charles Barkley recently described federal enforcement actions at an Arizona sports bar as “disingenuous” and “flat-out wrong” during a TNT segment.

Those comments were not tied to Hutchins specifically. Still, they illustrate how immigration enforcement has increasingly intersected with sports discourse.

Lakers part-owner Todd Boehly is caught in a different controversy

At the same time, Roski is not the only Lakers co-owner facing unrelated scrutiny. Part-owner Todd Boehly was recently named in newly unsealed Jeffrey Epstein-related documents.

The documents referenced 2011 email exchanges between Boehly and Epstein that were described as business-related. Boehly declined public comment, and reporting from The Athletic indicated the communications were not criminal in nature.

While the two situations are unrelated in substance, the timing places multiple ownership figures under public examination within the same month. That concentration of off-court attention naturally reflects on the franchise’s broader brand, even if the basketball product remains unaffected.

For now, the key fact remains unchanged: there is no confirmed $80 million ICE purchase in Hutchins. What exists is a listed property, a high-profile brokerage connection, DHS’s public denial, and heightened political sensitivity.

The next development will likely hinge on documentation. If a sale closes, scrutiny intensifies. If it does not, this episode becomes a case study in how quickly real estate listings tied to sports ownership can ignite national conversation.