By Megan CartwrightShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberPresident Donald Trump’s stepped-up immigration raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have drawn sharp criticism from public figures, including high-profile podcaster Joe Rogan, actor Jeff Bridges and singer Chappell Roan.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's representative via email for comment on Friday.
Why It Matters
The Trump administration's mass deportation agenda, a promise made in his 2024 campaign, aims to target undocumented immigrants. The controversial policy shines a spotlight on divisions over mass deportations, the use of military force in response to protests and how stars in the entertainment industry are using their platforms to shape public discussion. ICE’s focus on workplace raids and large-scale deportations, particularly in so-called sanctuary cities, has generated widespread public reaction and protests in major cities.
What To Know
Rogan has recently emerged as a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s tactics, despite having endorsed the 79-year-old in the 2024 presidential election.
On Tuesday's episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the former Fear Factor host condemned the raids.
"You got ICE raids, where they're taking people that are American citizens and they're scaring the s*** out of everybody," he told guest and comedian Theo Von.
This isn't the first time Rogan—whose podcast often tops Spotify's charts—took aim at the policy. The 58-year-old previously described the ongoing ICE raids targeting non-criminal migrant workers as "insane." He told guest Amjad Masad in July, per The Hollywood Reporter: "The targeting of migrant workers—not cartel members, not gang members, not drug dealers—just construction workers, showing up in construction sites, raiding them. Gardeners. Like, really?"
...What People Are Saying
A slew of celebrities have joined Rogan in calling out the Trump administration's ICE raids.
Earlier this week, singer Kehlani criticized ICE in an interview with Los Angeles radio show Big Boy’s Neighborhood, Billboard reported: "They’re kidnapping [people] out of schools, and jobs, and homes, and churches..." ICE is “kidnapping American citizens as well, it’s insane. Checking for Spanish-adjacent last names.”
Scream star Matthew Lillard surprised fans at Cinespia's Scream Halloween party screening in Los Angeles: "F*** ICE. In this time, in this city, we need to lead with love. Do not forget that s*** in this moment. Not to be political, but to be political as s***.”
Singer Reneé Rapp issued a foulmouthed tirade while performing in Portland, Oregon in October, The Guardian reported: "Let’s just make a few things abundantly f***ing clear. F*** Ice. F*** this administration. And f*** Trump.”
According to video footage posted to Instagram by Pop Crave, "Pink Pony Club" songstress Chappell Roan said at her show in Pasadena, California on October 11: "F*** ICE forever."
Country singer Bryan Andrews ripped into Trump in an emotional TikTok video on October 9: "If we don't wake the f*** up soon—and I mean quick, fast and in a f***ing hurry—we are f***ed like a football bat. We got the Department of Homeland F***ing Security out here sharing hype videos of ICE agents flying in on American cities, banging on doors, jacking people out of their houses, zip-tying them in the streets naked and then carting them off in the back of U-Hauls with no warrants or due process likes it's a f***ing trailer to the newest "Call of Duty" game. And the worst part is, I gotta watch some of y'all cheer it on like you're watching a f***ing football game."
On October 7, actor Jeff Bridges revived his character, The Dude, from The Big Lebowski to blast ICE on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!: "ICE? Let’s get ICE off our streets and into our beverages, man. This aggression will not stand. Right? So let’s just abide. Abide together. Yes, we can do this. Now, that’s just, like, my opinion, but it’s a good one, don’t you think, Jimmy?"
Country music star Zach Bryan's song “Bad News” includes lyrics explicitly referencing ICE raids, which sparked MAGA backlash last month: "ICE is gonna come, bust down your door / Try to build a house no one builds no more / But I've got a telephone / Kids are all scared and all alone... "I've got some bad news / The fading of the red, white and blue."
Others, meanwhile, have defended Trump's actions.
John Rich hit back at Bryan's "Bad News" tune in a message posted to X, referring to the 2023 Bud Light boycott: "Who's ready for the Zach Bryan-Dixie Chicks tour? Prob a huge Bud Light sponsorship for this one."
Dean Cain, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman actor, hinted he joined ICE in a video posted to social media in August: "Hey everybody, Dean Cain here. For those who don't know, I am a sworn law enforcement officer, as well as being a filmmaker, and I felt it was important to join with our first responders to help secure the safety of all Americans, not just talk about it. So I joined up... Since President Trump took office, ICE has arrested hundreds of thousands of criminals including terrorists, rapists, murderers, pedophiles, MS-13 gang members, drug traffickers, you name it—very dangerous people who are no longer on the streets. If you want to help save America, ICE is arresting the worst of the worst and removing them from America's streets... I like that. I voted for that."
What Happens Next
In an interview with 60 Minutes, which aired on Sunday, Trump said the raids will continue despite pushback.
"I think they haven't gone far enough," he told host Norah O'Donnell.
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