MOVING

John Legend Sings to Detained Immigrants

But prison wouldn’t let inmates hear concert.

Singer John Legend and Colombian rock star Juanes performed outside an immigration detention center in Arizona on Wednesday, after authorities refused to allow inmates to hear their concert. The Grammy winners met with immigrants before playing at the Eloy Immigration Detention Center, where more than 1,500 incarcerated people are facing deportation. The two singers wanted to draw attention to immigration and mass incarceration as a part of Legend’s #FreeAmerica campaign, which aims to overhaul the criminal justice system. The singers each played two songs before joining forces for Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” to a crowd of activists outside the center. The plan had been to play for the detainees, but organizers were told inmates were not allowed out of their cells to hear them perform.