Sting addresses latest U.S. immigration drama while accepting honour

Rocker Sting paid tribute to the U.S. immigrants caught up in President Donald Trump’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) drama while accepting his latest honour on Friday (08Sep17).
The singer/songwriter was honoured at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. and took a moment during his acceptance speech to address the U.S. government’s plan to rescind former leader Barack Obama’s plan to allow immigrants brought to America as children, known as “dreamers”, to stay.
Many Americans are appalled by Trump’s decision and on Friday Brit Sting chimed in with his thoughts: “I feel art is about dreaming,” he said. “We are all dreamers and I know that’s very pertinent at the moment. All of us here are dreamers. And those who call themselves dreamers this week and who are in some danger of being excluded from society – they need to feel that we are with them.”
Sting also chatted about his humanitarian efforts and philanthropy in the museum’s Warner Brothers Theater and performed his Oscar-nominated song The Empty Chair from the film Jim: The James Foley Story.
Sting explained how documentary maker J. Ralph had shown him a rough cut of the film about American photojournalist James Foley, who was brutally murdered by terrorists representing ISIS, before he was asked to compose a song for the film.
The musician confessed he initially declined the offer because the tragedy recounted in the documentary had left him too devastated and he didn’t want to contribute something that might be considered “mawkish”, but his producer/actress wife Trudie Styler urged him to take another look at the film and consider how he’d feel if one of their own children had suffered Foley’s fate.
During Friday evening’s events, Sting also donated his iconic 1978 Fender Stratocaster guitar to the Smithsonian, joking, “This dreamer is very happy to be here at the Smithsonian.”