Camerata del Sol Cancels New Mexico Concert, Citing Border Patrol Fears

The group said it would not put its players — who are of mixed immigration status — at risk by traveling through checkpoints

The flexible chamber orchestra Camerata del Sol has been forced to cancel an upcoming concert in the town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, because of worries about what might happen to its players if they travel through Border Patrol checkpoints.

The group is based in Las Cruces, NM, and is made up of players from Las Cruces, El Paso, and Juárez. While some of the players are US citizens, others are legal permanent residents, and some have special visas. A report by MSN News said the group was concerned about precedents that have recently been set regarding the treatment of those who are not citizens.

Camerata del Sol has also cancelled concerts in Silver City and Socorro for the same reason, with the trip to each town requiring passage through similar internal checkpoints.

The residents of Truth and Consequences expressed their sadness over the cancellation, since live classical music is rarely available in the town. Arts advocate Rebecca Speakes noted that "there are people here who just really love classical music," but the town is "a classical music desert."

"Every concert we have played has included musicians with different types of immigration status," Camerata del Sol said in a statement. "We have had U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, and people with special visas play with the ensemble. We cannot ask our musicians to travel through internal checkpoints at this point in time as we watch even legal permanent residents being mistreated at airports and kidnapped off the street."

"A lot of our locals look forward to this," said John Johanek, president of the Sierra County Arts Council. "We aren’t the victims here. We’re collateral damage. The musicians — Camerata del Sol — are the real victims. It’s a shame they have to put themselves through that."