gypsy jazz: so dangerous they will deport you in chains

dapperdan7

this recently happened to my friend pere soto. good bless america!

http://oregonmusicnews.com/blog/2009/11/03/guitarist-pere-soto-deported-in-chains-over-to-his-visit-to-portland/

MichaelHorowitz

Wow....I can't believe that happened to him! He came and played at our Monday night jam (he wasn't paid). I think the immigration officials have got their priorities backwards...

Jack

Holy crap! What a stupid, awful thing to have happen.

Phil

Terrible thing to have happened to Pere and his being shackled is completely outrageous and overboard for such an offense- but in reading the article he seems to acknowledge in the aftermath, after this terrible incident, that he should really have had an artist visa, as he was working and earning money, little though his earnings might have been, the law is the law - and to work here you need a visa.

...as a side note...I don't think chains would have held Andreas for long!

MichaelHorowitz

It's worth noting that many of the European artists that play in the US are on tourist visas, not work visas. It's very expensive and time consuming to get the work visas....if only the artists that have the work visas were performing then we'd see a 50-75% drop in European talent at our favorite Gypsy jazz festivals.

dapperdan7

"the law is the law".hey phil,does that go for the leaders of this nation? just checking.obviously they would never do something as bad as pere. peace dan

Phil

dapperdan7 wrote:

"the law is the law".hey phil,does that go for the leaders of this nation? just checking.obviously they would never do something as bad as pere. peace dan

Hey Dan, please don't take this thread out of context...my point is that to earn money legally here, as in most countries, the law is, whether we like it or not, that you need to have a legal permit to work here. You can either choose to apply for such a permit, so that you wont risk getting deported; or you can choose to risk it. It seems that Pere knew of the need for an artist visa, but chose to risk it and sadly suffered unconscionable consequences.

Writing as someone who applied for a permit to work here legally, months in advance of when I wanted to work in the US and had to wait 8 months or so, in my country of citizenship, for the reams of paperwork to be processed, before finally getting approved, I've been through the process; It's lengthy and it's a pain in the arse, but I can work here, with the secure knowledge that I'm legally entitled to do so.

- cheers, Phil

dapperdan7

touche' phil. i guess im more annoyed than anything else because i was working on setting up a small us tour for pere and i (with me as his rhythm player) in the us. definitely an over reaction by the authorities.how is the playing going? i missed this summer when i visited pdx but next time we need to play.

peace
dan

emicad

Oh, my god... that's awful!

Jazzaferri

What I find so offensive in this is that a US player can come and gig in Canada with a letter outlining the venue and the compensation. I understand if a person is going to come an stay for months and months ... then I understand the need for a Visa.

I think that US Customs and Immigration reaction is a bit heavy handed under the reported circumstances.

David F.

Given the general orientation of our (USA) immigration authorities, probably someone with a non-Spanish surname would have been ignored. Am I out of line to wonder if Texas border authorities over-focus on Hispanics?