Eugenio H. Villasante: 212-529-2940
646-285-1087
Matt Nerzig: 212-539-2882
New York, NY—Just days after the Obama Administration filed law suit against Arizona’s harsh immigration law, community leaders, unions and immigrant rights advocates rallied in front of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Headquarters in Midtown Manhattan to call on Commissioner Bud Selig to move the 2011 All-Stars game out of Arizona unless the controversial law is revoked.
“The MLB should honor its civil rights tradition and stand with the millions of baseball fans who would be discriminated by this disrespectful, mean-spirited and unconstitutional law,” said Hector Figueroa, Secretary Treasurer of 32BJ, one of the largest unions of immigrant workers in the country.
From the international boycott of South Africa during Apartheid to the NFL’s refusal to hold a Superbowl in Arizona after the state didn’t acknowledge Martin Luther King Jr. day, there is a long history of sports leagues and organizations standing up for civil rights. Major league baseball has long been linked to the struggle for civil rights in America, beginning with Jackie Robinson as the first African-American player in 1947.
“As a nation of immigrants, the majority of Americans want to move forward with a way for 11 million undocumented immigrants to earn citizenship,” said Figueroa. “We must reject enforcement-only tactics that break up families, disrupt businesses, divide communities, drain state and local budgets, and hamper our economic recovery.”
According to a study by UCLA, comprehensive immigration reform would grow the economy by as much as $1.5 trillion. However, mass deportation would cost over $240 billion taxpayer dollars, take decades to achieve, and tear apart millions of American families. It would also result in $2.6 trillion in lost economic activity over ten years, creating further instability and job loss.
With more than 120,000 members in many states, including many immigrants, 32BJ is the largest property service workers union in the country.
updated 7/8/2010
