Congressman Cohen Reintroduces the Baseball Diplomacy Act

WASHINGTON - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today reintroduced the Baseball Diplomacy Act to eliminate barriers to Cuban athletes entering the U.S. on non-immigrant visas during the baseball season and then returning home when the season ends. The measure would allow players to retain their Cuban citizenship and return to Cuba with their earnings, rather than having to renounce their citizenship and abandon their families to play baseball in the United States.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"We all know that some of our greatest baseball players are from Cuba or learned the game there, including my childhood hero, Hall of Famer Minnie Minoso, 'The Cuban Comet' of the Chicago White Sox. Under current law, the best Cuban players have to renounce their citizenship and abandon their families back home to play for our major league teams. That's bad for the players, bad for the fans and bad for baseball. The Baseball Diplomacy Act would eliminate these unnecessary barriers and let the best ball players compete, while improving U.S.-Cuban relations and transforming lives and livelihoods."

The Baseball Diplomacy Act would not affect other aspects of U.S. relations with Cuba or change other laws on immigration. It would only give Cuban baseball players the same opportunities as athletes from other countries, by allowing them to get visas for the duration of the baseball season and return home for the off-season.

# # #