Sen. Robert Menendez Joins Call for Arizona All Star Game Boycott
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the Senate's sole Latino, is the latest person to call for Major League Baseball to boycott Arizona because of its controversial new immigration law.
In a letter sent today to Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Michael Weiner, Menendez asks that Weiner and his players consider boycotting the 2011 MLB All Star Game, which is slated to take place in Phoenix, until the law is repealed or the game is moved to another city.
"The Arizona law is offensive to Hispanics and all Americans because it codifies racial profiling into law by requiring police to question anyone who appears to be in the country illegally," Menendez wrote.
The law in question requires immigrants in Arizona to carry documents verifying their immigration status. It also requires police officers to question a person about his or her immigration status during a "lawful stop" if there is "reasonable suspicion" that person may be in the country illegally.
Given the high number of Latino baseball players and fans, activists and sports columnists across the country are calling on MLB to pull the 2011 All-Star Game out of Phoenix.
"These players should not be subjected to the humiliation and harassment that [the Arizona law] would inflict," Menendez wrote in his letter.
Weiner has come out against the law, saying it could negatively impact hundreds of players.
The measure is slated to go into effect in July, but at least two cities in Arizona are challenging the law in court, and other suits may follow -- possibly including one from the federal government.
