SXSW Backs Austin’s Lawsuit Against State of Texas Over Anti-Immigration Law
By Sam Sodomsky.
The city of Austin recently joined San Antonio’s lawsuit against Texas’ Senate Bill 4, the “sanctuary cities” ban enacted last month, requiring local officials to enforce federal immigration laws and allowing them to question the immigration status of anyone they arrest. In opposition to the act, Roland Swenson, the CEO of SXSW, was asked by two U.S. senators to move his annual festival out of Austin as an act of protest until the bill gets repealed. Swenson rejected the request, while also opposing the bill: “We will stay here and continue to make our event inclusive while fighting for the rights of all,” he wrote. Now, SXSW has issued a new statement on the bill in an affidavit filed by Swenson earlier today. Read it below.
Today, the City of Austin filed the affidavit of SXSW’s CEO, Roland Swenson, in support of its lawsuit against the State of Texas, which challenges the constitutionality of SB4.
We are concerned that SB4 will substantially limit the participation of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in SXSW and limit the diversity and quality of the event. This decrease in participation will also diminish our substantial economic contribution to the City of Austin and the State of Texas.
SXSW was born in Austin. The event is steeped in the city and the city is our home. We stand behind the City and Mayor Adler, and we intend to stay and fight discriminatory legislation that hinders civil rights, while continuing to work to make our events inclusive and safe for all who attend.
SXSW’s festival this year was surrounded by controversy related to immigration. Leading up to the festival, a group of artists asked SXSW to drop a clause from their contracts, concerning the potential deportation of international artists. The festival responded by promising to change the language for 2018 and beyond.
Several artists scheduled to play the festival were denied entry into the United States. It is unclear if their denials were related to Donald Trump's executive order for a travel ban, which was signed near the start of the festival but was eventually blocked by federal judges.
Read “SXSW CEO Roland Swenson Talks the Festival’s Deportation Clause Controversy” on the Pitch.
This story originally appeared on Pitchfork.
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