Shakira “living in constant fear” as she speaks out against Trump’s anti-immigrant policies during record-breaking tour

After a successful Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran concert at Hard Rock Stadium, global superstar Shakira took a moment backstage to speak from the heart. Her 12-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son, who feature in a tender duet during her encore song “Acróstico,” aren’t just stage visuals; they’re “everything to me, my engine and the reason why I’m alive,” she said.

Shakira has performed for over two million fans across North and South America with 64 sold-out shows.

Shakira on hostility towards immigrants

“It means living in constant fear,” she says of being an immigrant in America today, after dedicating her latest Grammy to the immigrant community, as she said, “all my immigrant brothers and sisters, you are loved, you are worth it, and I will always fight with you.”

She added, “Now, more than ever, we have to raise our voices and make it very clear that a country can change its immigration policies, but the treatment of all people must always be humane.”

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Shakira’s journey as an immigrant

For Shakira, performing in Miami holds deep personal meaning as it’s the city she moved to at 19, leaving behind stardom in Colombia to chase her dream of breaking into the English-speaking music world.

With no formal training in English, she immersed herself in Spanish-English dictionaries and the poetry of Leonard Cohen, Walt Whitman, and Bob Dylan to master songwriting. She contrasted her acceptance in the US with the fear many immigrants now face under hostile political climates.

Turmoil in the country

Shakira’s comments reverberate across a country in turmoil. Just miles north, Los Angeles has become the epicenter of nationwide outrage. ICE raids have ignited mass protests, with thousands demanding an end to what they call “mass deportation” and federal troop deployments to dozens of immigrant neighborhoods.

Among the uproar, over 4,100 National Guard troops and 700 Marines were mobilized, curfews imposed, and hundreds detained. One senator was even forcefully removed from a press conference sparking fury that reverberated nationwide.

Trump’s anti immigration stance

It all stems from President Trump’s return to aggressive immigration enforcement: a directive to ICE for up to 3,000 arrests daily, including in hospitals and homeless shelters

Trump even reinstated a 12-country travel ban in early June and expanded deportations, including long-term, undocumented workers, despite warnings of critical labor shortages.

While deportations dropped sharply (from 200,000 to 12,000 monthly encounters), Trump’s team has shifted focus to deep-rooted communities, triggering civil unrest.