Sergio Romo, a pitcher with the San Francisco Giants, has come out in support of immigration reform in a new video released last week on Major League Baseball's YouTube page. In it, Romo voices his support for the Dream Is Now campaign that is currently engaged in efforts to persuade Congress to pass the DREAM Act. The act would provide a pathway to citizenship for some two million undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children.
Romo's video marks the latest in a series of public stances taken by professional athletes with regard to major political battles. He is a United States citizen, but in this year's World Baseball Classic Romo played for Team Mexico. And after the Giants won last year's World Series, he donned a hoodie for the championship parade that read "I just look illegal".
"That was a way to put out a statement," Romo said then. "I've been humbly put on a stage, a platform, and it was more of a statement to prove it doesn't matter who you are, what you've done in your life, the color of your skin. Everyone should get treated the same." He added, "I've been pulled over numerous times, driving a nice car," said Sergio Romo, the closer for the San Francisco Giants as well as the Mexican WBC outfit. "The first question is: What's your citizenship? The second question: Is this your car? And then: What do you do for a living? And it's like, 'Bro, you're Mexican just like me.' 'Ah, but I was born here.' And I say, 'So was I.'"
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Republican opposition to the DREAM Act previously stalled it, though President Barack Obama has implemented a similar, two-year action called DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The measure offers the opportunity for many young undocumented people to defer removal action, though it does not provide legal status.
"I'm first generation Mexican-American, both of my parents were born in Mexico," says Romo in the video. "My dad always spoke of the American dream as a man doing hard work to earn his keep and take care of his family in a respectful manner."
"When I hear of a student being undocumented, I take it as a kid going to school, just trying to learn to do better so I don't find anything negative in that," Romo added. "They...[deserve to] lead a productive life and give back to the only country they know as home."
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