Miller Brewing responds to call for boycott
The Business Journal of Milwaukee - 10:57 AM CDT Thursday

In response to a recent call for a boycott of its products, Miller Brewing Co. said it has never supported illegal immigration and has always supported the full enforcement of current U.S. laws.

Miller released the statement Wednesday in response to a call by a coalition of groups calling for a boycott of Miller beers like Miller Lite, Miller Genuine Draft and Milwaukee's Best. The group, which launched the boycott with the inception of a Web site -- www.MillerBoycott.com -- on Tuesday, claims that Miller gave money to "groups that support illegal aliens and illegal immigration," a claim Miller denies.

"Miller did not sponsor the Labor Day immigration march held in Chicago," Milwaukee-based Miller said in the statement Wednesday.

A recent Chicago Tribune report said Miller provided $30,000 to the March 10 Committee, a Chicago group that the Tribune said organized marches supporting the legalization of illegal immigrants. In a statement to the boycotting groups that was released by the group on its Web site, Miller said the money was donated to an immigration convention in Chicago and was dedicated to efforts that help immigrants become legally naturalized citizens of the United States, a stance the brewer supports.

In its statement, Miller said it "will closely review all requests for support from community and charitable organizations to ensure that we are not indirectly funding or associating our name with advocacy efforts on the immigration issue."

The boycotting groups claimed in a Tuesday press release that more than 100 groups were calling for a boycott of Miller, but the group's Web site lists only 43, including Americans for Legal Immigration, a political action committee in Raleigh, N.C., and 9/11 Families for a Secure America, Hawley, Pa., a group that supports protecting the United States from terrorism through strict enforcement of immigration laws.

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