Tony La Russa in favor of Arizona immigration law

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa says he is in favor of Arizona’s tough new immigration law, which would allow require police officers to stop anyone on the street and demand to see proof of citizenship if the officer has a reasonable doubt that the person is in the country illegally. Here’s what he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

“I’m actually a supporter of what Arizona is doing,” La Russa said. “If the national government doesn’t fix your problem, you’ve got a problem. You’ve got to fix it yourself. That’s just part of the American way.”

Padres star Adrian Gonzalez and Mets catcher Rod Barajas have been among players to denounce the law, with Gonzalez saying he will refuse to play in the 2011 All-Star game in Phoenix if the law is still in place. And some teams, like the Brewers and Indians, have taken measures to protect young Latin players taking part in the Arizona Rookie League, such as holding seminars on the topic and issuing ID cards to players.

MLB certainly has a stake in the issue, with 27 percent of its big leaguers being Latino.

It would be interesting to know what the Cardinals’ Latino players - there are six, including star Albert Pujols - think of this.

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