‘Living with Constant Fear’: Shakira Exposes the Hidden Trauma of U.S. Immigrants -

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Shakira’s recent words—”for an immigrant in the U.S.…it means living with constant fear”—sounded out during an interview preceding her current Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour throughout the United States. Gleaning from her own immigrant background—moving to the U.S. at 19 and struggling to learn language and navigate culture—she highlighted the psychic cost of living in anti-immigrant policy and xenophobic atmospherics. Traveling through cities such as Houston and Phoenix, her message highlighted an overarching climate of fear that permeates millions of immigrants today.

Shakira has long used her platform to champion immigrant rights. In early Feb 2025, while receiving a Grammy for Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, she dedicated her award “to all my immigrant brothers and sisters,” underscoring their worth and strength, especially immigrant women who toil day and night in order to care for their families. This was not a one-off: in 2011, when receiving an honor from Harvard, she denounced anti-immigrant bills in a number of U.S. states, saying “justice will come” for Latino Americans. And in 2020, she wrote a heartbreaking op‑ed denouncing the separation of family children from their parents at the southern border, calling the resulting trauma “unimaginably cruel”.

Her recent BBC testimony is one step within a tradition of activism that speaks so profoundly today. At a time when large-scale protests have been widespread against deportations and hardline policies, Shakira’s voice speaks straight to the emotional resonance of immigrant communities. She had it in a nutshell: perpetual fear—a state of mind born of legal insecurity, xenophobia, and the threat of family disunion.

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The content of that fear permeates higher-profile political moments. Individual experiences, such as Colombian immigrant Gloria Torres, expose the “living in the shadows” trauma of undocumented life in the U.S.—fear of law enforcement, to psychological anxiety that haunts even mundane tasks. These accounts highlight the actual human stakes behind Shakira’s lyrics.

At the institutional level, reforms in U.S. immigration policy have compounded vulnerabilities. The backtracking on DACA protections, more aggressive deportations, and bills aimed at undocumented individuals and their kids have worsened fear. Even legal uncertainty is affected by the chilling effect—reluctant to seek healthcare, justice, or report a crime for fear of discovery or arrest. And now, with legislation such as the just-signed Laken Riley Act inciting mass demonstrations, the climate of fear isn’t anecdotal—it’s systemic .

Shakira connects these challenges to her own experience—learning to speak English through poetry and song, feeling other, but also achieving success through determination. Her path is representative of millions who come in search of opportunity only to find a maze of fear, exclusion, and cultural tension. Her status as a global celebrity provides special visibility for these challenges, situating them away from the abstract policy questions and into concrete realities.

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In the future, Shakira’s activism holds both symbolic and real significance. Symbolically, she introduces immigrant trepidation and strength into the mainstream dialogue. Her words speak internationally and offer hope to struggling groups. Practically, celebrity advocacy can make a difference with policymakers. Public pressure is maintained by celebrity voices, and reforms are possible—such as restoring protections like DACA, ending family separation, and advancing paths to citizenship.

Nonetheless, celebrity advocacy has its limits. Critics contend that structural change involves continuing activism, community organizing, and legal involvement. Without those bases, assertions—even sincere—tend to be perceived as symbolic but lacking in substance. But Shakira has been a bit different—her engagement with UNICEF, foundation activity in Latin America, and frequent interviews exhibit a steadfast commitment .

Summing up, Shakira’s words—”living with constant fear”—are not rhetoric. They are the product of decades of grassroots experience and activism, from Grammy stages to protest marches and op-eds. They illuminate the economic and emotional insecurity that governs immigrant life in America today. Her words have power, but the way ahead requires policy change, legal rights, and community engagement. Her message echoes a broader call: to transform fear into action, to reclaim dignity for immigrants, and to fulfill the promise of a more humane society. Keep Reading Questiqa.us for more news.