Serranos Continue Assault on New Arizona 'Anti-Immigrant' Law

Above is a clip of State Senator Jose M. Serrano, who represents the south Bronx and east Harlem, in Albany denouncing Arizona's new immigration law and calling for comprehensive immigration reform, saying the current system destroys families.

Then, just a few minutes ago, the senator's father, Bronx Congressman Jose E. Serrano sent out a statement calling for Major League Baseball to move the 2011 All-Star game, scheduled to be held in Phoenix, "due to the extremist anti-immigrant law enacted last week in Arizona."

Serrano said there's precedent for this type of stance. The NFL rescinded its offer to hold the Super Bowl in Arizona in 1993 after the players union warned that it would not play in a state that didn't honor the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., which it didn't at the time.

Serrano said: “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.”

Bronx Pols Slam Arizona's New Immigration Law

Congressman Jose Serrano released a statement on Friday criticizing a new immigration law in Arizona which gives the authorities increased powers to identify, prosecute, and deport illegal immigrants.

Serrano said: 

It is a sad day when any state makes racial profiling and discrimination the law. This is a deeply flawed measure that singles out a specific group for harassment.

Our nation has a long tradition of welcoming immigrants, but today the government of Arizona turned their back on that tradition in favor of anti-immigrant grandstanding.

We all know that the only way to bring immigrants out of the shadows is to enact comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship.

Laws like this give greater urgency to our work to pass a humane, non-punitive comprehensive immigration reform package. The time has come for action, before this law becomes a model for other anti-immigrant activists and is replicated elsewhere.