A song by late jazz trumpeter Jaimie Branch has fresh meaning in era of immigration enforcement

Fiery and bold, the late jazz trumpeter jaimie branch was never afraid to speak her mind. She was comfortable challenging the political beliefs of anyone, from a single person to an entire audience.

That passion was on full display at a 2020 show in Switzerland, a country known for not taking sides.

“It’s not always time to be neutral,” she said over a slow drum cadence and foreboding notes from a cello and upright bass. After offering some defiant notes on trumpet, she sang about “wide-eyed racists” and a 19-year-old young woman who “crossed over at dawn.”

“This is a warning, honey,” sang branch, who did not capitalize her first or last name as a performer. “They’re coming for you.”

The song was “prayer for amerikkka pt. 1 & 2,” and the young woman is Yesica, a Salvadoran immigrant who spent years in a detention center waiting to reunite with her family in the Chicago area. (Her last name has been withheld for safety reasons.) It was originally released in 2019 as part of the musician’s “FLY or DIE II: bird dogs of paradise” album.

Today it is circulating among fans again, thanks to International Anthem’s December reissue of the album for the label’s 11th anniversary.

A Long Island native who grew up in Kenilworth, jaimie learned of the family’s story from her mother, Soledad “Sally” Branch. Originally from Colombia, Sally became a social worker and psychotherapist and helped immigrant communities.

At more than 11 minutes, “prayer for amerikkka” not only captures the emotion of Yesica’s harrowing experience, but resonates with listeners today amid President Donald Trump’s aggressive federal deportation campaign.

Though jaimie died in 2022 at age 39 from an accidental overdose, her message lives on, said her sister, Kate Branch.

“She wouldn't stand for any of this,” said Kate, 38, who lives in New Jersey. “I just continue to listen to these lyrics and her trumpet, and they almost resonate more. The words that she chose are even more meaningful today.”

Gang violence drove Yesica and her family to leave El Salvador in 2015. When a MS-13 gang member pursued Yesica for a romantic relationship, her father intervened and was shot to death in front of her. While her mother, Ana, and two younger brothers were permitted by ICE to enter the U.S., Yesica was sent back to El Salvador. She couldn’t apply for asylum because she was over 18.

After she was sexually assaulted and nearly killed by gang members, Yesica made it back to the U.S. border, but was detained in a for-profit detention center in Texas. It would be three years before a federal judge would grant her permission to work and stay in the country, allowing her to join her family, who had settled in the north suburbs of Chicago.

Sally and other activists helped the mother advocate for her daughter’s release as the young woman endured “horrible” experiences in confinement.

“She came out with this incredible strength and belief that God gave her this challenge to make her stronger,” said Sally, 75, who lives in New Jersey.

Inspired by the events, jaimie first performed “prayer for amerikka” in Paris on the night of the U.S. midterm elections in 2018. She was also upset by the racism her Black band members experienced while touring overseas, according to her band mate, Jason Ajemían.

And while jaimie had previously only recorded instrumental tracks, she decided to sing — and scream — so her message was “literal” and “clear,” Kate said.

“I loved performing that song, and I loved jaimie's passion and her yelling at people because they needed it,” said Ajemian, 49, of Talkeetna, Alaska.

Ajemian said the first part of the song is almost like a funeral march. To him, the song rejects Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

“We don't want to go back,” he said. “What time period are we trying to go to? We need to go forward.”

The pace quickens during the second part of the song, which features Latin-inspired rhythms and melodies.

"That was the type of music that my mom would play for us," said Kate, who considers the song to also be a tribute to their mother. “Right around this time, jaimie started wearing a shirt that said ‘young, Latin and proud.'"

Sally said she was moved by her daughter's decision to sing about Yesica and therefore use her music as advocacy.

"My daughter and I really shared a sense of fairness and justice for all, and mostly for those on the margins," she said.

Sally also said she felt honored when her daughter told her, “The work you do is very important, much more important than what I do.”

“She really took her work seriously,” Sally said. “What higher compliment can a daughter give her mother?”

During their live performance in Switzerland, jaimie incorporated her mother's name into “prayer for amerikkka':

"What is distance? What is time? What is fear? What is family?/What is love when it's all just memory in solitude y Soledad?"

"That lyric is really powerful and personal to me because she relates it to her own family and all of our families," Ajemían said. "My family came from Armenia and Ireland and different places. Everyone's family has come from somewhere else."

Sally said she hopes to play “prayer for amerikkka” for Yesica and her family one day. And Kate and Ajemían said they are pleased to see jaimie's music finding new audiences.

“She really cared deeply," Kate said. "She was a really beautiful person, not just to me, but to her community and to her fans.”