Miguel’s ‘Now’ Music Video Shows the Upsetting Truth About Immigration Detention Centers

Miguel has always been outspoken and, on his latest album War & Leisure, he bares his truth in his most political and woke album yet. On display is the fact that he’s not afraid to speak up for immigrants, as listeners will notice in his latest single, “Now.” 

In it, he throws shade at Donald Trump, singing “CEO of the free world now, build your walls up high and wide / Make it rain to keep them out / That won’t change what we are inside.”

What we are, inside, is a nation of immigrants. Miguel has been clear, over and over, about his support for immigrants—and it’s more evident than ever in this song and in the music video for “Now.” According to People, the music video was filmed in Adelanto, California, and follows Miguel as he visits the largest detention center in the state, talks to former prisoners and finally performs at a nearby concert presented by Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement.

The video aims to highlight the injustice of the detention centers, that seem to act more like prisons. “To see innocent people being ripped from their way of life, to essentially be incarcerated and used as cheap labor is really crazy,” Miguel states in the video.

This isn’t the first time he has demonstrated his commitment to immigrants’ rights. Back in October, Miguel (who is of Mexican and African descent) participated in a protest with other immigrant rights advocates in front of the Adelanto detention center. He’s actively using his celebrity status to bring attention to the atrocities happening in these centers and urging people to sign a Change.org petition to end immigrant prisons.

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The new video features the conversations he had with immigrants affected by Trump’s policies, something he told Billboard he was proud to feature.

“They call them ‘detention centers,’ but they’re really jails,” he said to Billboard. “You start to see the real reason behind innocent people’s lives being ruined—it’s just money. The corporations are getting money from cheap labor, essentially.”

Miguel has also proudly shown his support for DACA, posting a reminder on his Instagram account to those who qualify.

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Although his latest show of support for immigrants comes in the form of a song, the outspoken singer has other activist causes that he advocates for, including #Justice4Meek, the disasters that struck Mexico and Puerto Rico this past summer, and #TakeAKnee.

We hope to continue to see Miguel taking a stance for justice and liberty for ALL. And judging by his closing statement in this video, it sounds like that’s exactly what he plans to keep doing. “It’s a time now to really speak out and not only speak out, but to do something about what we really believe in if we want to see the change.”

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