U.S. attacks Iran-affiliated targets in Syria, following drone strike that killed 1 American contractor, injured 5 U.S. troops.
Grammy award-winning singer Gloria Estefan
CNSNews.com brought a WCBS-TV report to Estefan’s attention that said, “Gloria Estefan is known for politics that range from moderate to conservative Republican. For her to speak out as she did Saturday means the Arizona immigration law has touched many diverse people.”
In reaction to the quote, Estefan said, “I’m not affiliated, completely, always have been. I don’t know where they get this.”
CNSNews.com also asked Estefan, “You don’t want to be grouped with moderate or conservative Republicans in the media?”
Estefan, whose family fled Communist Cuba and settled in Miami when she was a child, said, “I hate boxes, really, quite honestly. I’m not affiliated. People can assume things from things they hear me say, but I am not Republican. I’m not a Democrat. I’m not even an Independent. I’m not affiliated just in case nobody knew.”
Gloria Estefan and her husband Emilio hosted a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee at their Miami home in April with President Barack Obama.
When reacting to the WCBS-TV quote, Estefen also said that immigrants tend to “appreciate more” the freedoms American citizens enjoy.
“I mean, loving this country as I do, and I think immigrants sometimes appreciate more the freedoms that we have in this country than the average citizen that’s been so used to having them if they’ve been here for generations,” she said.
“I came from a country that is now a communist country. It is really even more now a dictatorship under Fidel [Castro]. We saw how these things, little by little – you’re seeing it happen in Venezuela again – little by little things get taken over and taken over,” Estefan added.
“We saw the minute this law [Arizona’s illegal immigration law] passed how a lot of other, including my own state, wants to pass similar laws when what we need is the federal government to step up and do comprehensive immigration reform and really secure the border,” said Estefan.
“I mean, it needs to be done because of the criminals. But you can’t put criminals and undocumented workers in the same breath or suddenly make it legal, or make it, you know, imperative that a police officer ask you for your papers or make it a crime if you don’t have your green card on you,” she added.
Estefan said she understands the “tough battle” the U.S. border states with Mexico are involved in.
“No one wants to tell them ‘don’t secure your borders,’” said Estefan. “We understand. It’s a tough battle the border states have with the criminals. But I don’t think this law is going to have any impact on the criminals. The criminals are going to keep committing crimes.”
“We need good security on the border and then good comprehensive reform so that hard- working immigrants that may need a guest workers program or something like this can really, you know, have a status here,” she said. “They pay taxes every time they buy something in this country. So, you know, they’ve got taxation with no representation. So they should be able to step up and become, you know, a citizen, or at least get a visa to work.”