Musical artists create Arizona boycott campaign over immigration bill

LatinaLista — The list of who is boycotting Arizona because of their passage of SB 1070 — which makes law enforcement officials stop, question and demand proof of legal residency of anyone whom they feel is in the country illegally — just got longer.

It’s reported that the lead singer of Rage Against the Machine, Zach de la Rocha has gotten several high-profile singers to join him in boycotting Arizona.

Calling the campaign, The Sound Strike, groups like Cypress Hill, Juanes, Conor Oberst, Los Tigres del Norte, Rage Against the Machine, Pitbull, Cafe Tacvba, Kanye West, Conjunto Primavera, Jenni Rivera, Wisin and Yandel and Calle 13, among others, have pledged to not perform in Arizona.

The campaign’s online site (which has been so busy the server went down) features an area for more artists to join the boycott and an online petition for people to sign to repeal SB 1070.

“Fans of our music, our stories, our films and our words can be pulled over and harassed every day because they are brown or black, or for the way they speak, or for the music they listen to,” de la Rocha wrote in an open letter announcing the campaign.

“People who are poor like some of us used to be could be forced to live in a constant state of fear while just doing what they can to find work and survive. This law opens the door for them to be shaked down, or even worse, detained and deported while just trying to travel home from school, from home to work, or when they just roll out with their friends.”