Neil Young Worries Trump Might Not Let Him Back in USA
photo by Takahiro Kyono via Flickr
BY JAMES CONRAD
One of the most high-profile critics of twice-impeached President Donald Trump is the veteran Canadian-born singer-songwriter Neil Young.
A notable run-in between the two occurred in 2015 when Trump played Neil Young’s song “Rockin’ In The Free World” during campaign events that year, with neither Young’s approval nor even the faintest understanding of what message the song means to convey, as it was written to call out the Republican Party and then-President George Herbert Walker Bush for their neglect of less fortunate constituents. Naturally, Young objected, and rightfully so.
Shortly after Young attained U.S. citizenship in early 2020, he again publicly offered scathing criticism of President Trump near the end of his first term. In a since-deleted open letter posted on NeilYoungArchives.com, Young roasted Trump once more for unauthorized use of “Rockin’ In The Free World,” called him a “disgrace to my (sic) country,” rebuked his “mindless destruction of our shared natural resources, our environment and our relationships with friends around the world” and declared, “Our first black president was a better man than you are.”
More recently, in another since-deleted post, Young, who will be performing shows in Europe and Great Britain throughout June and July this year, expressed concerns that the Trump regime may seek reprisals against him for his strident commentary.
“When I go to play music in Europe, if I talk about Donald J. Trump, I may be one of those returning to America who is barred or put in jail to sleep on a cement floor with an aluminium blanket,” he writes. “That is happening all the time now. Countries have new advice for those returning to America.”
Young continues: “If I come back from Europe and am barred, can’t play my USA tour, all of the folks who bought tickets will not be able to come to a concert by me. That’s right folks. If you say anything bad about Trump or his administration, you may be barred from re-entering USA if you are Canadian. If you are a dual citizen like me, who knows? We’ll all find that out together.”
Considering that Neil Young is 79 years old and has a history of epilepsy, along with accounts that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers generally have not been treating detainees humanely, there is sufficient good reason to be worried about the outcome of all this.
Photo by James Conrad
Indeed, the Trump regime has been tough on foreign travelers, especially those who express grievances therewith. In mid-March, members of British punk band U.K. Subs were denied entry to the U.S. ahead of a scheduled appearance at a punk rock festival in Los Angeles, California. Bass player Alvin Gibbs expressed suspicion that he and his colleagues might have been punished for his disapproving remarks about President Trump. Around the same time, a French scientist traveling to a conference in Houston, Texas was deported after border officials found correspondence on his phone containing criticism of Trump.
Whether Neil Young will be allowed to return to the United States for scheduled appearances after his shows in Europe and England remains to be seen. Though Canada has advised its citizens that they will need to register with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services if they intend to visit the United States for longer than thirty days, Canadian actress Jasmine Mooney was detained by ICE for about two weeks, despite having a valid work visa and even though no evidence of her publicly bashing Trump has been found as of this writing. Although Neil Young has had U.S. citizenship for five years, that may have no bearing on whether or not immigration officers recognize his Constitutional rights.
Of course, we know that neither Trump nor his minions give a fuck about the Constitution. Hell, in early December 2022, Trump, still petulant about being defeated by Joe Biden in the 2020 National Election, posted on Truth Social that the Constitution ought to be “terminated.”
Considering how ICE has shown a blatant disregard for foreign travelers, their humanity and their Constitutional rights even if they have not committed any crimes, it appears that the termination of the Constitution is in progress and steadily moving right along.
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