Camila Cabello honored her immigrant roots and the United States’ long history of welcoming immigrants while introducing a performance at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night.
The “Havana” singer recognized young undocumented immigrants, known as Dreamers, as she took the stage to introduce U2, who performed “Get Out Of Your Own Way” on the Hudson River with the Statue of Liberty in the background.
“Tonight, in this room full of dreamers, we remember that this country was built by dreamers, for dreamers, chasing the American dream,” Cabello told the audience.
“I’m here on this stage tonight because, just like the Dreamers, my parents brought me to this country with nothing in their pockets but hope,” she said. “They showed me what it means to work twice as hard and never give up. And honestly no part of my journey is different from theirs. I’m a proud Cuban-Mexican immigrant born in eastern Havana, standing in front of you on the Grammy stage in New York City and all I know is, just like dreams, these kids can’t be forgotten and are worth fighting for.”
It’s a particularly precarious moment for Dreamers, who are currently waiting for Congress to pass a Dream Act that could give deportation relief to hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants. Nearly 700,000 Dreamers are at risk of losing work permits and deportation relief after President Donald Trump moved to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program last year.
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