ATLANTA — As federal agents conduct immigration raids in Southern California and across America, the union representing major and minor league baseball players has warned any concerned members to “carry documentation wherever they go,” union chief Tony Clark said Tuesday.
Clark, asked about the raids amid the context of a significant Latino player base, said the union has retained immigration lawyers and encourages players and family members to reach out with any concerns, so as to ensure players can be “in the best position possible to just get to the ballpark and do their jobs.”
Said Clark: “We continue to communicate with our guys and assure them, whether they’re at the minor league level or at the major league level, this is how best to protect yourself in the near term, and carrying the documentation while having an open line of communication is what we’ve found has worked so far.”
Clark said the union is working “hand in hand” with the league on this issue and believes the league is delivering a similar message to players. Clark and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred each spoke in separate meetings with the Baseball Writers Assn. of America here Tuesday.
Manfred said the league has discussed the issue with the Trump administration.
“They assured us that there were going to be protections for our players — for example, going back and forth between the U.S. and Canada,” Manfred said. “They told us that was what was going to happen. That’s what happened. Beyond that, it’s all speculation.”
A federal judge ruled last week that the government cannot use racial profiling — what language someone speaks, for instance, or what race they are — in coming to the “reasonable suspicion” required to detain someone.
According to the league, 28% of players on opening day rosters were born outside the United States, with the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Cuba ranking as the top three foreign countries.
Does Manfred worry Latino players might get caught up in the raids?
“I worry about anything that could be disruptive to the very best players in the world,” he said. “The prospect of that disruption, given that our players all have visas, it’s speculation at this point. We have seen no evidence of that at this point.”
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