Billie Eilish, FINNEAS, and Olivia Rodrigo denounce “unconscionable” ICE actions in Minneapolis

Billie Eilish, FINNEAS, and Olivia Rodrigo have all spoken out against Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) actions in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Eilish also called on other celebrities to speak out, captioning an Instagram post “hey my fellow celebrities u gonna speak up? or”.

Their statements come after ICE agents killed two American citizens in Minneapolis in recent days: Renee Nicole Good, who was killed in her car on January 7, and Alex Pretti, who was killed in the street on January 24.

“ICE’s actions are unconscionable, but we are not powerless,” Rodrigo posted on Instagram. “our actions matter. I stand with Minnesota.” She also shared a post from political commentator Ben Sheehan, imploring American citizens to call on their senators to deny ICE additional funding.

After Good’s killing, Eilish shared a post calling ICE “domestic terrorists” who were “tearing apart families, terrorizing citizens, and now murdering innocent citizens,” and shared another with a list of 32 people reported to have died in ICE custody, with a call to “[a]bolish ICE.”

Despite video evidence suggesting otherwise, the Trump administration has argued in both cases that the victims were to blame. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said Good’s attempt to drive away was an attempt to “weaponise her vehicle” against the agent that killed her, and called it an act of “domestic terrorism”. Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino said that because that Pretti was legally carrying a gun (allowed under Minnesota law and the U.S. Constitution), though Pretti made no attempt to draw the weapon, it “look[ed] like” he intended to “massacre law enforcement”.

Eilish’s brother, FINNEAS, called out the hypocrisy of the latter argument.

“The conservative argument that allows school shootings to continue has always basically boiled down to, ‘We have to protect the second amendment. We have to allow people to carry weapons legally,’” said FINNEAS in a video posted to social media. “Every argument I’ve seen for why Alex Pretti’s death was ‘justified’ yesterday is like, ‘Well he had a gun.’ Shut the f**k up! You’ve spent 30 years straight telling us that children have to die so that we’re allowed to legally carry weapons everywhere in the United States. This guy was being beaten to a pulp on the ground, he didn’t draw his weapon. He had a weapon on him legally. And they shot the f**k out of him. And killed him.”

All three artists have been vocal critics of the Trump administration in the past. ICE’s actions in Minneapolis have drawn criticism from many other celebrities, including Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young.

The DHS, which oversees ICE, responded to Eilish: “It’s garbage rhetoric from the likes of Billie Eilish that is leading to a 1,300 per cent increase in assaults and 3,200 per cent increase in vehicle rammings against our brave law enforcement.”

In the wake of Pretti’s killing, the New York Times reported that ICE agents denied local law enforcement access to the scene. When protesters arrived at the scene, agents used pepper spray and tear gas against them. As one man was walking away from the scene with his hands up, ICE agents chased him down and tackled him to the ground.

Following bipartisan backlash and public outcry against ICE’s actions, the Trump administration has pulled Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino from Minneapolis. President Trump called with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz yesterday, saying afterwards on social media that the two seemed now to be on a “similar wavelength”.