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Congressman José E. Serrano
Representing the Sixteenth District of New York
April 28, 2010 –Washington, DC – Congressman José E. Serrano today called for Major League Baseball to move the site of the 2011 All-Star Game from Phoenix, due to the extremist anti-immigrant law enacted last week in Arizona.
“As a fervent baseball fan and a supporter of immigrants’ rights, I cannot abide the thought of a celebration like the All-Star Game being held in Phoenix next year,” said Serrano. “I will be reaching out to contacts in Major League Baseball in the coming days and urging them in the strongest possible terms to move the All-Star Game to another state. With nearly 1/3 of all Major Leaguers coming from foreign countries, there is no way that a state with this discriminatory law should be the host.
“Whether a player is foreign born, or just of an ethnicity that could be targeted by this unconstitutional law, everyone should be scared of a law that empowers law enforcement to arrest people based on looks. All players, whatever their national origin, should join with citizens across this nation in saying ‘this law is wrong.’ Major League Baseball should do the same.
“I would remind MLB that in 1993, the NFL was clear in its statement against this sort of behavior when it rescinded its offer to Arizona to host the Super Bowl. This came after NFL players warned that they would not play in a state that did not celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. I urge the Major Leaguers playing today to follow the lead of their NFL counterparts in taking a strong stand against racism.
“This anti-immigrant law is unjust, wrong-headed, mean-spirited, and unconstitutional. It is important that everyone who believes in justice and our national spirit of decency speak out against this measure. MLB has a very loud megaphone and their rejection of Arizona’s action would be an important demonstration to the state that we do not tolerate such displays of intolerance in our nation.”
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