"Thanksgiving did not go the way that Frank Ray had anticipated. The country singer had invited his family up from Texas to Tennessee for the holiday, with plans to deep fry a turkey, explore Nashville, and take in a show at the Grand Ole Opry. But on Thanksgiving morning, Ray received an unsettling call: TSA had flagged his sister's husband, Juan Nevarez-Porras, at El Paso international airport due to insufficient documentation required to fly."
"As the US immigration crackdown continues, stories like Ray's have become disturbingly familiar. They also have all the makings of a country song: snapshots of American hardship and heartbreak, of working men and women whose oppression is laid bare by guitar and melancholy melody. Decades ago, Merle Haggard's The Immigrant and Dolly Parton's cover of Woody Guthrie's Deportee advocated for the rights of Mexican immigrants in America."
Frank Ray's family Thanksgiving plans were disrupted when TSA flagged his sister's husband, Juan Nevarez-Porras, at El Paso for insufficient travel documentation. Nevarez-Porras was born in Mexico, has lived in the United States for 20 years, is a green-card applicant, and had a renewed five-year work authorization that TSA lists as acceptable. ICE detained Nevarez-Porras and border patrol took his 16-year-old US-citizen son into custody. The incident reflects a broader immigration crackdown that unsettles families. Country music has historical songs advocating immigrant rights, and Ray recorded Jesus at the Taco Truck, yet mainstream country generally avoids explicit immigration commentary.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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