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Bad Bunny says he’s not doing any dates in the United States on his upcoming Debi Tirar Más Fotos (I Should Have Taken More Photos) tour. The 31-year-old Puerto Rican rapper, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, cites the possibility of ICE raids as a factor in his decision to forgo adding U.S. dates to his upcoming world tour, which will make stops in Latin America, Europe, and Australia.
Bad Bunny is currently wrapping up a sold-out 30-show residency at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan. In an interview with British outlet i-D, he said that he didn’t want to subject his fanbase to any problems with ICE raids, given that his predominantly Latino audience travels around the globe to see him.
There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate —I’ve performed there many times,” he told i-D. “All of (the shows) have been successful. All of them have been magnificent. I’ve enjoyed connecting with Latinos who have been living in the U.S.”
He added, “But specifically, for a residency here in Puerto Rico, when we are an unincorporated territory of the US… People from the US could come here to see the show. Latinos and Puerto Ricans of the United States could also travel here, or to any part of the world. But there was the issue of — like, f-cking ICE could be outside (my concert). And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
His concern is valid, as the United States has stepped up deportation efforts in recent months. The Trump administration recently won a Supreme Court decision in Los Angeles allowing ICE to profile, question, and detain Latino-looking or Spanish-speaking individuals, and those who line up for work as day laborers at farms or other pickup sites. They can also be profiled by the kind of work they do.
The ruling prompted a response from the ACLU. Its director, Cecillia Wang, issued a statement that said, “Today’s Supreme Court order puts people at grave risk, allowing federal agents in Southern California to target individuals because of their race, how they speak, the jobs they work, or just being at a bus stop or the car wash when ICE agents decide to raid a place. For anyone perceived as Latino by an ICE agent, this means living in a fearful ‘papers please’ regime, with risks of violent ICE arrests and detention.”
Bad Bunny’s world tour kicks off on Sunday, Sept. 14, with a final performance at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan. After a month break, it makes its first stop on Nov. 21 at Estadio Olimpico in the Dominican Republic, heading through South America with stops in Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Colombia, then on to Spain, Germany, France, and London, before ending up in Brussels, Belgium, next July.
The three-time Grammy winner has brought an economic boost to his hometown. His 30-day residency in Puerto Rico generated a reported $200 million for Puerto Rico.
See social media’s reaction to Bad Bunny’s tour decision below.
Bad Bunny’s Says His Tour Won’t Come To U.S. Because of ICE Raids was originally published on cassiuslife.com
