U.S. Senators Ask SXSW Organizers To Exit Austin Amid Immigrant Crackdown

AUSTIN, TX — South by Southwest organizers have rebuffed the urging of two U.S. senators to move the music and arts festival outside of Austin in light of a newly signed law that cracks down on undocumented immigrants living in Texas.

In a letter to SXSW officials, Democrat senators Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada urged a change of venue to the annual festival staged each year in March, citing the signing of Senate Bill 4 into law outlining civil and criminal penalties—fines of up to $25,000 per day and potential jail time—against law enforcement officials deemed to be non-cooperative with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in detaining undocumented residents for eventual deportation.

Taking effect on Sept. 1, the law also allows police officers to inquire about a person's citizenship status during innocuous traffic stops. Detractors of the law have labeled it as nothing more than sanctioned racial/ethnic profiling, referring to SB4 pejoratively as a "show me your papers" law.

Related story: Texas Governor Signs Far-Reaching Anti-Immigration Law On Facebook Live

In making their plea, the pair of senators cited SXSW's dropping of a clause in performers' contracts that called for notifying immigration officials in the event of untoward behavior from invited musicians and artists at the festival that lures visitors from around the globe and is one of the city's biggest economic generators. The clause came to light during this year's festival when musicians were denied entry into the U.S. to perform at SXSW due to improper documentation.

Related story: SXSW Officials Clarify Policy Related To International Acts Amid Immigration Debate

SXSW organizers acted quickly to defuse that situation, vowing to delete the language related to contact with immigration officials in future performers' contracts while voicing the premium they place on diversity.

"It is because of your willingness to stand up for what is right that we write to respectfully request you consider relocating the 2018 South by Southwest (SXSW),” the two senators wrote in a letter. “In America we believe that people should be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin, but that is not what SB4 does."

Despite their pleas, SXSW won't be pitching its considerable tent elsewhere. The festival's co-founder and CEO, Roland Swenson, said in a prepared statement the festival isn't going anywhere, even while suggesting a shared objection to SB4.

“Austin is our home and an integral part of who we are," Swenson said in a prepared statement. "We will stay here and continue to make our event inclusive while fighting for the rights of all."

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