Dreamers are expressing their disappointment with Nicky Jam after the reggaeton singer voiced his support for former President Donald Trump last week.
Friday’s show of support did not sit well with Dreamers like Adrian Escárate, who was featured in a 2018 video Jam created in partnership with Spotify to support DACA recipients in their resistance to the Trump administration’s actions.
As president in 2017, Trump repealed DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allowed eligible undocumented young adults who came to the U.S. as children to work and study without fear of deportation. The Supreme Court blocked his move.
Escárate said Saturday on X that he shared with Jam the fears that thousands of Dreamers like himself felt after Trump revoked their immigration protections. “Fast forward to now where it feels like Nicky Jam used me to promote his music + sell out our community. Thanks for nothing,” said Escárate, a senior media strategist at the National Immigration Law Center.
I can be seen in the video below where I shared it with @NickyJamPR the fear that thousands #DREAMers of #DACA like myself about our protections being taken away from us. Fast forward to now where it seems like Nicky Jam used me to promote his music + sold out our community. Thanks for nothing 😒 https://t.co/eIyo9Dwiv4
— Adrian Escárate (@AceOutWide) September 14, 2024
In the 2018 video, Jam spoke with Escárate and two other Dreamers about the stakes of losing DACA. “When I heard the first things that came out of Trump’s mouth, I said, ‘Oh my God, this sounds ugly,’” Jam told them. “It’s clearly a racist situation.”
Juan Escalante, a former DACA recipient who continues to advocate for Dreamers, pointed out Jam’s changing views on X, saying, “Nicky Jam’s hypocrisy knows no bounds.”
Two Jam publicists did not respond to emails seeking comment on Monday.
On Friday night, Jam briefly appeared onstage next to Trump at a rally in Las Vegas. The appearance became the source of countless memes and jokes on social media after Trump accidentally introduced Jam as a woman and seemed surprised to learn he was a man. Even Jam himself joked about the incident in a now-deleted Instagram post promoting his appearance.
But in between, there were also messages from disillusioned fans questioning Jam about his previous statements in support of the Dreamers and the DACA program.
During the rally, Trump said, “Latin music superstar Nicky Jam, you know Nicky? She’s hot. Where’s Nicky?” As Trump looked away from the stage to find Jam, a tall man wearing all-black glasses, a sparkly necklace, and a red “Make America Great Again” hat came up to greet him. Once Jam was on stage, Trump corrected his mistake by saying, “Oh, look, I’m glad he came up.”
Despite the accident, Jam was very excited about meeting Trump on stage.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. President. People who are from where I’m from don’t get to meet the president,” said Jam, who is half Puerto Rican and half Dominican. “So I’m lucky.”
He then switched to Spanish to address Trump supporters in the crowd, saying, “It’s been four years and nothing has happened. We need Trump. Let’s make America great again.”
The comments prompted acclaimed Mexican rock band Maná to pull its song “De Pies a Cabeza,” a collaboration with Jam, from music streaming services. Members of the band have long been critics of Trump.
Members said they “do not collaborate with racists” in a statement in Spanish on Sunday. “For the past 30 years, Maná has supported and defended the rights of Latinos around the world. There is no business or promotion that is more valuable than the dignity of our people.”
Astrid Silva, DACA recipient and immigration activist and co-founder of the nonprofit Dream Big Nevada, responded to X about Jam’s statement of support for Trump.
“People are free to support whoever they want, and everyone is also free to continue questioning them,” she said.
Silva also wondered whether Jam and other reggaeton singers who recently supported Trump are unaware that the fate of the DACA program remains uncertain, now that a seven-year lawsuit has been ongoing following legal action by the Trump administration and nine Republican-led states seeking to end DACA.
The Uncertain Future of DACA
While Trump was unable to end DACA after the Supreme Court ruled the treaty could remain in place, lawsuits from Republican states have limited the treaty.
A federal judge in Texas overseeing the legal battle has ruled DACA illegal several times in recent years but has not ended the program completely.
Under his most recent ruling last September, only current DACA recipients or those whose DACA status expired less than a year ago can continue to renew it every two years. But DACA remains closed to new applicants.
About 580,000 current recipients can continue to renew their DACA status. But since DACA was closed to new applicants, an estimated 400,000 people who would have been eligible have been shut out, including nearly 93,000 first-time applicants who were left in limbo over the past three years after filing the necessary paperwork.
Advocates have long argued that DACA is one of the most successful policies for integrating immigrants.
The average DACA recipient is a young adult in their 30s, Bruna Sollod, senior communications and political director at United We Dream, said at the news conference. Most DACA recipients have lived in the U.S. for more than 16 years.
“Almost half of DACA recipients are now married, and 50 percent of them have a child,” Sollod said. “DACA isn’t just about the DACA recipients; it’s about the domino effect that would happen if the program were to end.”
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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
