Bad Bunny has said he excluded the United States from his forthcoming world tour because of concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents might target his concerts, as the agency intensifies arrests under the Trump administration.
In an interview with i-D magazine, the Puerto Rican rapper, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, said he was “very concerned” about the possibility of Ice raids. When asked if the decision was linked to mass deportations of Latinos, he replied: “Man, honestly, yes.” He stressed that none of his reasons were “out of hate” and that his previous US performances had been “magnificent”.
The 31-year-old said Ice’s goal of at least 3,000 arrests per day since Donald Trump’s re-election was a major factor. “There was the issue of – like, fucking Ice could be outside [my concert],” he told the magazine. He added that US fans could see him at his current residency in Puerto Rico before his global tour begins in November.
The decision follows the announcement in May of his tour supporting his sixth album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos”, which includes no US dates. He has previously said performing in the US was “unnecessary”. On Instagram he has called Ice agents “sons of bitches”. The tour starts on 21 November in the Dominican Republic and ends in Belgium next July.
The news comes amid growing alarm over Ice enforcement. On Monday, the Supreme Court granted federal agents the power to stop people in Los Angeles simply for speaking Spanish or appearing Latino, a move that immigration advocates say has “effectively legalised racial profiling”. Several Latino events have been cancelled over fears of raids, including Philadelphia’s Carnaval de Puebla, a Guatemalan celebration in Los Angeles, and a Colombian independence festival in Kansas.
