Carlos Santana is a musical legend who has won multiple Grammy’s. Santana isn’t generally known to be controversial or particularly outspoken, but he created controversy this past Sunday, when he criticized Georgia and Arizona citizens for tough immigration laws passed in those states.
Santana was in Atlanta to receive a Major League Baseball Beacon of Change award, along with baseball legend Ernie Sanders and actor Morgan Freeman. In a speech before the game Carlos told the people of Arizona and Georgia they should be “ashamed of yourselves!” His comments sent shockwaves through the stadium and subsequently through the media.
The immigration laws passed by these states are contentious, and Arizona is currently locked in a legal battle with the Federal Government over the laws, which are under federal jurisdiction. The laws are believed to be too tough on illegal immigrants, and activists feel they create an environment of racial profiling of the Latino population.
Santana was originally born in Mexico, but his family eventually immigrated to San Francisco in the sixties. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1965, so he is aware of the problems immigrants face.
In interviews after his provocative statements he told journalists, “This is the United States. This is the land of the free. If people want the immigration laws to keep passing, then everybody should get out and leave the American Indians here.”
The thousands of immigrants, who become citizens with the aid of an immigration attorney, may echo Santana’s feelings over the controversial immigration laws. The laws however are meant to curtail illegal immigration. Over 10 million illegal immigrants reside within the US, all of who face deportation unless they apply for citizenship under the guidance of an immigration lawyer.
