It’s been decades since vocalist Jane Eugene and her band Loose Ends catapulted up the charts with “Hangin’ on a String.” Ever since, Eugene’s mentored others, supported her community, and used music to uplift. But now, Eugene’s in ICE detention. The African-British singer may be deported and banned from the U.S. for 10 years.
For context, legal immigration is expensive and up against an “unprecedented” 11-million-deep backlog of applications. Black immigrants are deported at vastly disproportionate rates. U.S. immigration law itself was defined by the developing definition of whiteness, a definition that privileges European applicants. Although the Department of Homeland Security claims, “The law applies equally,” the legal system continues its history of dehumanizing and marginalizing communities it finds “un-American.
Trump’s election interference conviction, rape charges, and 34 felonies didn’t keep him out of the Oval Office. But Eugene overstayed her visa and has been at Kentucky’s Campbell County Detention Center for months.
Eugene, despite declining health and a bail denial, is in “good spirits,” expressing solidarity with incarcerated Latine communities and immigrant mothers separated from their children. “These are people…human beings,” says Eugene. “We’re supposed to love everybody.”
When law itself is a product of white supremacist subjugation and land theft, we cannot rely on it to protect us. But we can rely on each other. If you’d like to support Jane Eugene, you can do so here: https://pushblack.news/j82.