Throughout the years Rage Against The Machine's Zack de la Rocha has stayed politically active. In November 2023 he marched for Palestine after not showing up to the band's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction, and now he's teaming up with clothing brand Born X Raised for anti-ICE merch.
The ongoing ICE raids in Los Angeles inspired musicians like Finneas and Olivia Rodrigo to speak up. Born X released a “Protect Los Angeles” hoodie and T-shirt, and 100% of the profits go to CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights), an organization that offers legal services to immigrants in the workforce, immigrant students, and immigrants facing deportation.
De la Rocha modeled the apparel in photos by Atiba Jefferson (whose work you know from the front and back cover of Turnstile’s Never Enough) and he shared this statement:
This is Los Angeles. In LA we fight alongside our undocumented brothers and sisters. It’s like the old school used to say, "con safos" — it’s just the nature of things here, whether you like it or not. Because here we form a community that transcends borders. Here we reject the idea that anyone is illegal. We are a dignified city of millions of international workers from every corner of the globe, and together we are developing the capacity to defend our mothers, our fathers, our families, and our children from ICE and their racist and armed vigilantes now invading our communities. It’s para los niños that we organize to fight for those who can’t.
For those of you who stand on the sidelines and consider yourself safe, believe us when we say that you’re not. Fascism is lawless. Its agents weaponize what they consider to be the law and will only apply it to those that they target, while they illegally detain, harass, terrorize, and disappear the members of our communities with total impunity. As we speak, they are attempting to blur the lines between what is protest and what is "terrorism," between who is an innocent worker and who is a "violent criminal." This could soon be the norm, whether you’re a citizen or not. To stand with us is to stand up for yourselves.
Born and raised in Mexico. Black and brown, no backing us down. Solo el pueblo salva al pueblo. In peace for as long as possible.
Grab a hoodie or tee here.
