Miguel fears shift toward totalitarianism, slams Trump immigration crackdown

[Thiệu Ngô]

NEW YORK — Miguel is speaking out about the current administration.

By Anika Reed

The R&B singer-songwriter returned with a new album, "Caos" (out now), and a passionate perspective about the "scary" state of politics.

Miguel's embrace of his Mexican heritage musically, with multiple songs on "Caos" written and sung in Spanish, has coincided with the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, including mass deportations and expansion of ICE detention centers.

"It was like a 'Twilight Zone'," Miguel recalls of Trump's first term as president, which was "an execution of divisiveness on a stage like the presidency" that "actually inspired people to be outspoken about maybe what they were holding close to their chest in terms of how they felt about their fellow citizens … (or) about people of other ethnicities and religious beliefs."

Miguel is 'not a perfect person' and made sure that showed in new album, 'Caos'

Anika Reed USA TODAY
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NEW YORK — Miguel is speaking out about the current administration.

The R&B singer-songwriter returned with a new album, "Caos" (out now), and a passionate perspective about the "scary" state of politics.

Miguel's embrace of his Mexican heritage musically, with multiple songs on "Caos" written and sung in Spanish, has coincided with the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, including mass deportations and expansion of ICE detention centers.

"It was like a 'Twilight Zone'," Miguel recalls of Trump's first term as president, which was "an execution of divisiveness on a stage like the presidency" that "actually inspired people to be outspoken about maybe what they were holding close to their chest in terms of how they felt about their fellow citizens … (or) about people of other ethnicities and religious beliefs."

Miguel is 'not a perfect person' and made sure that showed in new album, 'Caos'

And "eight years later now … to see a more tangible execution of a sentiment that really touches on totalitarianism and a real control, to see it affect not just non-citizens, but actual citizens – it's a scary time," Miguel says.

Protests about United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions have popped up in his hometown of Los Angeles in recent months since Trump's second term began in January.

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"It puts us at a real apex … because we have to make some really, really intentional decisions about what we allow and what we don't allow.

"I'm not a politician. I don't pretend to be, I'm not a scholar in this way, but I know that we are born with a sense of what is right and wrong. And I would wager my career on the fact that most people are looking at what's happening and feel like something is not right."

The "Adorn" singer also added his voice to the growing chorus of entertainers weighing in on fears of being "silenced," following criticism around Bad Bunny's selection as Super Bowl halftime show headliner and the cancellation and temporary suspension of late-night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, respectively.

Miguel says, "It's important when we see talent being silenced in the way that we have, and then also seeing how (with) capitalism, decisions change when the money is affected. We have to take note of those things and look at where the power is and how to actually change things in the direction that we want it to go."