How ICE agents are facing a musical backlash from a new generation of protest singers
Shootings in Minneapolis have led to scathing criticism from the likes of Jesse Welles and Bruce Springsteen
More than 80 years after folk icon Guthrie scrawled “This Machine Kills Fascists” on his guitar, his musical heirs are savaging President Donald Trump on his immigration crackdown, his renamed Department of War, the United States’ attack on Venezuela, Republican opposition to healthcare subsidies, and Washington’s glaring failure to tackle American poverty.
This week, folk and protest singers unveiled scalding musical assaults on the establishment following the fatal shootings of two US citizens living in Minneapolis, in the US state of Minnesota, earlier in January.
A musical collective called the Singing Resistance has taken to the streets and churches of Minneapolis, singing about love and community but also about their call to “abolish ICE”, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency at the heart of aggressive operations in the city and elsewhere.
Other protest singers are embracing today’s most reliable pathway to getting music into young people’s ears: Instagram and TikTok.