Country Star with Cancer: ‘This is My Country Too’ Amid Trump Deportation Threat

Country star Raul Malo made a serious statement as he said he may be deported by the Trump administration in the future. 

Over the weekend while celebrating the Fourth of July, the Mavericks lead singer shared his thoughts about what is happening in America.

This comes a year after the frontman of the Grammy-winning band revealed his cancer diagnosis, sharing his prognosis after his band canceled several shows to support him during his treatment.

While on tour with his country music band, Malo addressed the deportations and ICE raids happening in recent weeks in cities across the United States as he condemned the ‘cruelty and suffering being inflicted on the unsuspecting.’

He said that his mother ‘could be stripped of her naturalized citizenship,’ leaving him and his sister as ‘illegal birthright citizens’ to be deported under President Donald Trump’s new law.

On Friday, Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law and allocates roughly $170 billion to support border control and immigration goals, per NPR, and the bill could create an influx of deportations as a result, according to Aljazeera. 

Country star Raul Malo made a serious statement as he said he may be deported by the Trump administration in the future; pictured June 2022 in Austin

‘Dear America, today is the day we celebrate you and what you used to stand for. The words “liberty and justice for all” have faded into a distant past,’ he began his lengthy post.

‘To some of us those words were deeply personal. My family came here because of those words. I was born here because of those words. I have had an extraordinary life because of those words,’ he continued. ‘And now those words have lost their meaning.’

Malo added: ‘They are now abstract concepts used to inflict cruelty and suffering on the unsuspecting, the weak, the sick, the poor, the needy. We can add Purple Heart war veterans to that list as several have been deported already. This is America right now.’

He said that his mother ‘could be stripped of her naturalized citizenship’ and his whole family could be deported.

He also addressed trolls and said while he may be forced to leave ‘whether I want to leave or not,’ he will continue his passion for music and using his voice.

‘Some will tell me that I should leave the country or my favorite “shut up and sing”. (A statement so void of any sense that it is impossible to execute) On the “leaving” part…that may come true whether I want to leave or not. The way the new law stands my mother could be stripped of her naturalized citizenship, then my sister and I would be illegal birthright citizens and away we go.’ 

‘As far as “shut up and sing,” well, clearly that’s not happening. You see the thing is this is my country too. Always has been,’ he wrote before asking readers to ‘think about what the Stars and Stripes mean to you.’

He also asked people to consider ‘the words that we’re supposed to live by…The Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, our Bill of Rights’ and to ‘think about the food you’re eating.’

Over the weekend while celebrating the Fourth of July, the Mavericks lead singer shared his thoughts about what is happening in America; pictured November 2024 in Austin

In his post, he said that his mother ‘could be stripped of her naturalized citizenship,’ leaving him and his sister as ‘illegal birthright citizens’ to be deported under President Donald Trump’s new law

‘Think about it. This isn’t about politics anymore. It’s about humanity. It’s about all of us. We, the people. Happy Birthday America!’

This comes days after he shared a health update following his cancer diagnosis last year. 

He revealed that he recently had a sinus infection that ‘literally brought me to my knees’ with the left side of his face left with temporary numbing. 

He also said that he has an abdominal hernia, which has been ‘the most challenging in all of this’ and is ‘very visible … really painful.’ 

In his post, he went on to share with his fans that he will soon be undergoing colon surgery in August followed by another procedure later this year to repair the hernia. 

In spite of all of the ‘challenges,’ he said that he has completed 16 rounds of chemotherapy and continues to remind himself with the following message, ‘Perspective: I’m alive.’ 

He also addressed trolls and said while he may be forced to leave ‘whether I want to leave or not,’ he will continue his passion for music and using his voice; pictured May 2024 in Berlin

This comes a year after the frontman of the Grammy-winning band revealed his cancer diagnosis and had to cancel several shows while getting treatment; pictured June 2022 in Austin

This comes days after he shared a health update following his cancer diagnosis last year. In spite of all of the challenges, he said that he has completed 16 rounds of chemotherapy that he is alive; pictured May 2024 in Berlin

He has previously kept his fans updated on his health with good news in March and also revealing he spent time in the hospital in January after the hernia developed. 

He also announced that same month that he had previously undergone surgery in December to remove a tumor from his liver. 

Last summer, he announced his cancer diagnosis on social media while on tour with his band, reminding his fans to get check-ups and take care of themselves. 

He said that while he and his bandmates have been on a ‘health kick’ while touring, he had a physical exam with a doctor, which ‘led to another appointment with a gastrointestinal specialist, which led to a CAT scan. And that proved to show two cancerous spots.’