Rangel: 2011 All-Star Game Should Be Moved From Arizona

Press Release

As baseball's greatest stars gathered Tuesday evening for their annual Mid-Summer Classic in Anaheim, Congressman Charles Rangel continued to call for next year's All-Star Game to be moved from Phoenix, Arizona.

Leaders across the nation are urging Major League Baseball to re-locate the event as a way of signaling their disapproval of the state's controversial SB1070 immigration law. The state legislation, passed this spring, would make it easier for local law enforcement to identify, prosecute and deport undocumented immigrants.

Major League Baseball is risking not just their reputation, but the reputation of the game by hosting the All-Star game next year in Arizona," said Rangel. "Baseball is the heart and soul of this nation. Yet there's nothing more un-Constitutional, more un-American, than the discrimination that is being legislated with this bill."

Last week, Rangel joined Congressman Jose Serrano, New York City Comptroller Jon Liu and other community leaders organized by the New York Immigration Coalition at a protest outside of Major League Baseball headquarters in New York City.

"Major League Baseball should refuse to hold next year's All-Star Game in Arizona until all baseball players and their fans can live in and visit Arizona with the confidence that their civil rights will be respected and the police will not single them out because of the color of their skin or the accent of their speech," New York Immigration Coalition Executive Director Chung-Wha Hong said last week. "The league needs to give serious consideration to moving the game, and meet with elected officials and community leaders ASAP to discuss this urgent issue."

Rangel also commended the Justice Department for challenging the SB 1070 in court, calling the bill a "misguided and divisive law that makes it harder for law enforcement to gain the trust of not just the immigrant community, but all people of color."

"Tell me, how does an undocumented person look? What does an 'illegal' look like? And how far will one go to prove it?" said Rangel. "You don't go about fixing our broken immigration system by passing bad laws that diminish the safety and rights of us all."

For more information on Congressman Rangel's immigration position and his what his is doing in Washington and in the District, please visit his web site at http://www.rangel.house.gov.

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