Reports of detainments and deportations have added fear to an already fraught visa process. Bells Larsen’s new album had been four years in the making, and he was preparing for his first U.S. tour when his plans came to an abrupt halt. The Canadian singer-songwriter began writing Blurring Time in 2021 as a way to process questions about his gender identity. Once he decided to transition, he recorded the tracks in his pre-testosterone voice and again after his voice deepened, harmonizing with the past version of himself. Blurring Time puts words to a trans experience rarely represented in the media, of the vulnerability of facing the unknown in the quest to live authentically. It resonated with fans, and Larsen began to plan his headlining tour, with dates in New York, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco, among other U.S. cities. In late March, Larsen got an email from the American Federation of Musicians, a labor union that represents artists from the U.S. and Canada. The AFM pointed to an April 2 policy update from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the government agency that artists must petition for a work visa. The policy states that USCIS only recognizes two “biological sexes, male and female,” as assigned at birth. After seeking legal advice, Larsen, who had already changed his gender marker on his passport, came to the conclusion that he had no choice but to cancel his tour. “It’s really heartbreaking,” he says. Larsen isn’t the only international musician who recently canceled a U.S. tour at a time when aggressive immigration enforcement has put travelers on edge. In this rapidly evolving climate of anxiety and uncertainty, some international musicians are deciding that going through the complicated process of getting a U.S. artist visa may not be worth the financial and safety risks.
via npr: Aggressive immigration enforcement makes musicians rethink U.S. tours