French Montana Says He Wants To Be The ‘Face Of Hope’ For Migrants And He’s Determined To Make That Happen
French Montana told TMZ he wants to be the “face of hope” for immigrants who come to America. It’s a feeling no doubt many immigrants have right now. The Trump Administration’s depraved immigration policy has resulted in the deaths of citizens and non-citizens. Many immigrant children have died in immigration detention centers due to inhumane and unhygienic conditions. The deeply racist rhetoric towards Latinx and Muslim immigrants, in particular, has made the two groups targets of domestic terrorism.
This summer a gunman killed at least 20 people in an El Paso, Texas Wal-Mart. In his “manifesto,” the shooter referred to his attack as a response to a “Hispanic invasion.” In January, four men were arrested in New York for planning to attack a small Muslim community. Trump has referred to Mexicans as “rapists,” and called people from Syria, a Muslim-majority nation, “snakes.” All of these men were avid Trump supporters and some unabashedly spewed his hateful talking points on their social media accounts.
French Montana is proud to be an immigrant.
French Montana has always been outspoken about his African heritage. Born and raised in Morocco before his family immigrated to the Bronx, New York when he was 13 years old. Even with English as his second language, he was able to have a thriving career as a rapper.
French believes if he hadn’t come to America he wouldn’t have been able to pursue his dreams. He wants similar opportunities for all the other “French Montanas” out there who are seeking the American Dream.
“I just feel like I came from nothing and I was immigrated to this country,” French told TMZ. “I would have never been ‘French Montana’ if I wasn’t immigrated. I feel like there’s a lot of French Montanas out there.”
French wants to be the “face of hope” for immigrants.
“I want to be the perfect example for these young kids that come from Africa, that come from third world countries, that come from places that have no hope and all you have is faith,” French said. “I want to be the face of that. We got to mold that and use this platform to broadcast whatever dreams everybody got.”
But he won’t be working with Donald Trump on a better tomorrow for immigrants.
When he was asked if he would work with Trump, Montana seemed uninterested. Instead, he hoped to take a more hands-on role in the African community.
“I don’t know if I would do that,” he said. “But, I’ll go build a couple hospitals in Uganda and Morocco. Build schools and things that I’ve been doing.”
While celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, and Karamo Brown have had meetings with Trump and his administration to improve criminal justice, race relations, and LGBTQ+ relations, respectively, only one has had success. Kim Kardashian credits herself with getting the President to commute the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, who spent 21 years in prison for a first-time, non-violent drug charge.
While every fight for human rights requires everyone to be activated, many activists felt Kardashian’s role overshadowed and downplayed the decades of work put in by real organizers and activists.
French Montana has been critical of Trump in the past.
Last year, French was critical of Kanye West’s association with Trump and expressed disappointment in Trump’s plan to end the DACA program.
“But I’m not feeling what he [West] doing with holding Trump down. I don’t respect nobody who take away education from students. [Trump] took away education from millions of students. They don’t have the DACA program. You know, this country was built on immigrants. Nobody’s from here,” French said.
The President is just as responsible as the gunmen who pull the triggers.
It isn’t shocking that any immigrant, whether as successful as French or not would oppose the Trump administration. The President’s hateful rhetoric puts immigrants and their loved ones at great risk every day.
“The president may not be pulling the trigger or planting the bomb, but he is enabling much of the hatred behind those acts. He is giving aid and comfort to angry white men by offering them clear targets — and then failing to fully denounce their violence,” wrote Mehdi Hasan for The Intercept.
This isn’t the first time French Montana has stepped up for immigrants.
In 2018, French teamed up with MTV and the nonprofit Get Schooled for the “We Are the Dream” campaign which provides resources to undocumented immigrants seeking higher education.
“I am one of tens of thousands of first- and second-generation immigrants that are having a significant positive impact on the United States. I am excited to lead others in this fight to ensure Dreamers connect with support they need to get to college and make their American Dream come true,” he told Rolling Stone.
We need celebrities like French Montana to use their platform and stories to amplify the voices of immigrants. We’re not safe here until all of us are safe here.
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