WATCH: John Legend sings of immigration woes in new single

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In his latest single “Surefire”, John Legend illustrates how love can transcend borders and break social barriers.

In the track’s music video released last Monday, the Grammy-winning balladeer sings about a tale of a star-crossed interracial couple named Roberto and Jamila, braving challenges that deter them. Following an altercation with Jamila’s authoritarian father, immigration authorities deport Roberto to Mexico.

Despite her father’s disapproval, Jamila sets out on a journey to reunite with her lover. “I may not know a lot of things, but I know that we’re surefire,” Legend croons in the video directed by Cole Wiley.

His single echoes the current problems troubling immigrants and refugees in the United States, such as deportation, Islamophobia and violence.

“Human civilization is experiencing an extraordinary moment in time. We are more capable of doing more good than ever before, but we are still mired by a myriad of systemic failures that continue to arise because of our continuing lack of empathy towards others,” Wiley said in a statement to Rolling Stone.

“Surefire”, together with his previous single “Love Me Now”, are part of Legend’s fifth album “Darkness and Light”. Gianna Francesca Catolico/JB

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