This essay was written by one of five people arrested at the Move the Game protest in Minneapolis on August 11, 2010. The protest confronted a meeting of Major League Baseball (MLB) team owners and league Commissioner Bud Selig, demanding that they move the 2011 All Star game out of Arizona unless the anti-immigrant law SB1070 is repealed. The essay focuses on part of the arrestees’ jail experience, bringing to light this largely hidden site of large numbers of immigrant deportations.
Immigrant rights protesters demand MLB move the All-Star game out of Arizona
Minneapolis, MN – Chanting “Move the game! Move the game!”, 100 immigrants and supporters confronted a meeting of Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Bud Selig and team owners at a ritzy Minneapolis hotel on August 11, 2010. The protest was part of the national movement demanding that Major League Baseball move the 2011 All Star game out of Arizona unless the state repeals its recently passed anti-immigrant law, SB1070. Losing the All Star game would be a big blow to Arizona, resulting in an estimated $60 million loss of revenue. Thirty percent of MLB players are Latino, and many have spoken out against SB1070.
Minneapolis, MN – The outpouring of online anger at Target turned to the streets on Aug. 5, as more than 50 people protested outside of Target’s store on Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue in the heart of Minneapolis’s Latino community. Target is under fire for contributing $150,000 to MN Forward for television ads in support of Minnesota Republican governor candidate Tom Emmer, a man infamous for his extreme anti-immigrant, anti-gay and anti-minimum wage views.
Roseville, MN – This may be seen as the week that Republican candidate for governor Tom Emmer’s campaign imploded. After making a statement on the campaign trail calling for restaurant workers who earn tips to get a wage cut so that restaurant owners can earn more money and then bizarrely stating that many tip-earning servers make over $100,000 a year, a firestorm erupted. Emmer spent the next week trying to backpedal and avoid the visceral anger from working-class Minnesotans at his out of touch, anti-worker views.
Minneapolis, MN – The immigrant rights movement scored a victory in Minnesota. Under pressure from a growing boycott and weekly protests, on July 14 the owner of nine local Jimmy John’s sandwich shops in Minneapolis and the western suburbs signed a public statement condemning Arizona’s anti-immigrant SB1070 law and calling for immigration reform.
Minneapolis, MN – One June 14, about 30 immigrants and immigrant rights supporters picketed outside of Jimmy Johns sandwich shop at Block E in downtown Minneapolis. Jimmy Johns is one of the companies targeted in the national boycott against Arizona in response to SB1070, the racist anti-immigrant law Arizona passed in April. The protest demanded that Jimmy Johns founder James ‘Jimmy John’ Liautaud stop supporting anti-immigrant politicians in Arizona such as Joe Arpaio and John McCain.
Minneapolis, MN – On April 26, 100 supporters of immigrant rights gathered at an emergency protest in downtown Minneapolis. They came together to voice outrage at the new anti-immigrant law passed in Arizona. Arizona's Governor Jan Brewer signed into law the most extreme anti-immigrant legislation in the country, (SB-1070) on April 23, provoking large protests in Arizona and outrage around the country.
Minneapolis, MN – La Coalición para los Derechos de los Inmigrantes en Minnesota (MIRAc, por sus siglas en ingles) tiene un nuevo video para ganar fuerza para la marcha del 1 de mayo, Día Internacional de los Trabajadores, en Minneapolis. La marcha se enfoca en los derechos de los trabajadores y los inmigrantes, con los temas principales de 'igualdad para todos' y 'legalización para todos'. El video nuevo incluye entrevistas con personas en la calle expresando su apoyo para la marcha y promoviéndola. La marcha del 1 de mayo en Minneapolis empezara a las 2:00 p.m. en el parque Martin Luther King en la Avenida Nicollet y calle 41. Más que 25 organizaciones han dado su apoyo a la marcha, y la coalición sigue creciendo.
Minneapolis, MN – The Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition (MIRAc) has released a new video in Spanish to build momentum for the march in Minneapolis on May 1, International Workers Day. The march will focus on workers' rights and immigrant rights, with the themes “Equal rights for all” and “Legalization for all.” The video features interviews with people on the street expressing support for the march and encouraging others to attend. The Minneapolis May 1 march will begin at 2:00 p.m. in Martin Luther King Park on Nicollet Avenues and 41st Street. More than 25 organizations have endorsed the march, and the coalition continues to grow.
Saint Paul, MN – The struggle for immigrants to be able to get drivers licenses in Minnesota is gaining steam. The group leading the struggle is Mujeres en Liderazgo (Women in Leadership), a grassroots group of Latina immigrant women. They want the Minnesota legislature to allow anyone who lives in Minnesota to get a drivers license, regardless of their immigration status.
