Tom Morello shares "Fuck ICE" playlist featuring KNEECAP, The Pogues and more

Tom Morello has shared a "Fuck ICE" playlist, featuring 65 protest songs by a diverse array of musicians including KNEECAP, The Pogues and Bruce Springsteen.

Morello has been a longtime critic of U.S. President Donald Trump and his policies empowering Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Last month, Morello released anti-ICE protest song 'Pretend You Remember Me' which is featured on the playlist alongside a handful of other tracks by Morello and Rage Against The Machine.

"A rocking little soundtrack to enjoy while you drive those bastards out of your neighbourhood," said Morello of the playlist on Instagram.

 

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The playlist showcases a wide range of genres and eras, from  'Get Up, Stand Up' by Bob Marley to 'Arrest The President' by Ice Cube to 'Why We Build The Wall' from the Broadway musical Hadestown.

Also included is KNEECAP's 'Get Your Brits Out'. Last month, Morello hailed the Belfast trio as "the Rage Against the Machine of now" and praised them for their ability to "speak truth to power."

Disturbed frontman David Draiman called Morello's support for KNEECAP "shameful". KNEECAP responded to Draiman with a 2024 image of the singer signing Israeli artillery shells and the caption, "Signing bombs dropped to murder kids and other people's families just makes you a straight up cunt."

Morello was one of over 100 artists who signed an open letter by KNEECAP's record label, Heavenly Recordings, in support of the band back in May.

Additionally, 'Thousands Are Sailing' by The Pogues is on the playlist. The 1988 folk ballad addresses the mass emigration from Ireland during the economic struggles of the 1980s, in parallel with emigration due to the Great Famine.

The song discusses how Irish migrants in the 80's saw challenges obtaining visas in the U.S., leading to a large population of undocumented Irish immigrants in the country.

Three tracks by Bruce Springsteen are featured on the playlist, following the Born to Run singer's feud with Trump. Springsteen spoke out against the Trump administration at a concert in May, to which Trump called him a "dried out 'prune' of a rocker" who "ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country" on social media.

Morello defended Springsteen during a gig in Boston, saying, "Bruce is going after Trump because Bruce, his whole life, he’s been about truth, justice, democracy, equality and Trump is mad at him because Bruce draws a bigger audience. Fuck that guy!”

Springsteen's 1995 song 'Across The Border' is featured on the playlist, which tells the story of a couple taking the risky journey across America's southern border to seek a better life. Also included is his 2012 track 'American Land', which addresses the stories of immigrants from around the world who came to America at the turn of the century.

Other songs expressing solidarity with immigrants on the playlist include 'The Last Refugee' by Roger Waters, 'City of Immigrants' by Steve Earle and 'Prayer of the Refugees' by Rise Against.

Since Trump took office, he vowed to carry out the largest mass deportation in history, citing claims of illegal immigrants committing crimes in America. As of August 14, 59,041 individuals are in ICE custody, only about 30% of whom have criminal convictions.

ICE openly targets migrants at their immigration court appointments, workplaces, places of worship and schools, often wearing masks and plainclothes with no identification.

Thousands of protests were held across the country in response to ICE raids, including a massive demonstration in Los Angeles in June. Despite the overwhelmingly peaceful nature of the protest, Trump responded by federalising the California National Guard and deploying 4,100 National Guardsmen, 700 Marines and an unknown number of local, county, state and federal police against the approximately 1,000 civilian demonstrators.

The LA protest was mentioned in the caption of Morello's Instagram post announcing the playlist, tagged with "#DefendLA" and "#Defend(YourCityHere)".

Morello was one of many musicians who attended the protests in various American cities, alongside Dropkick Murphys who debuted their song 'Who'll Stand With Us?' at a protest in Boston. 'Who'll Stand With Us?' is included on Morello's playlist.

Listen to the full playlist below: