Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and protests are such a prominent occurrence in the average day-to-day in 2026 that a short drive to the grocery store can consist of witnessing both agents in aggressive situations with civilians and dozens of people gathering on street corners in outrage. Through it all, music has found a way to unite people, whether through lyrics, rhymes, or artists speaking out against violence.
Following the death of those in Minneapolis, Bruce Springsteen wrote a song titled “Streets of Minneapolis,” which he released last month. The artist tells the story of the last month that the city has been “‘neath the occupier’s boots.” He refers to the Department of Homeland Security as “King Trump’s private army” and speaks about the racial injustices by agents.
In the song, Springsteen references some of the victims in Minneapolis by name:
“Against smoke and rubber bullets / In the dawn’s early light / Citizens stood for justice / Their voices ringing’ through the night / and there were bloody footprints / where mercy should have stood / And two dead, left to die / on snow-filled streets / Alex Pretti and Renee Good.”
The Center for American Progress has published that there have been at least six deaths tied to ICE this year, so far, and while still under investigation, lives like those of Good and Pretti have been lost in protest against corresponding Trump administration immigration enforcement operations.
In 2025, the Department of Homeland Security reported 150,000 deportations, and according to the American Civil Liberties Union, there have countless reports of physical and sexual abuse and inhumane conditions at camps like Fort Bliss in Texas, which holds nearly 3,000 people– a few thousand shy of its planned maximum capacity. Here, Francisco Gaspar Andres died of liver and kidney failure when the detention center failed to provide proper medical care.
On January 28, an electronic dance music DJ group, Levity, posted an Instagram story expressing their opposition to ICE. The post prompted pro-ICE messages in their direct message inbox.
“Quit bringing politics to the rave,” said one user, Cody Lyle. “I’m gonna get rail spots for Valentine’s Day and wear a great big I support ICE shirt.”
The trio responded by sharing the thread on their story:
“FYI: If you wear an ‘I support ICE’ shirt to one of our shows, you will be removed by security, and you will be banned from all shows.”
This brings up the age-old question– Do politics belong in music? To answer this question, we have to ask ourselves– what is music?
The Oxford English Dictionary defines music as “vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.”
Yale University published an article in March 2025 discussing how emotions shape politics with a panel of Yale professors like Professor of Political Science, Helene Landemore:
“Emotions are not just personal experiences but deeply intertwined with political practices and institutions,” said Landemore. “It is vital that we design democratic interventions that are sensitive to emotions to enhance democratic participation and resilience.”
For hundreds of years, music has been used to express emotions in social movements against conflicts like the Vietnam War. In Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, “Long Walk to Freedom,” published in 1994, he wrote that music can strengthen politics, but it can also defy it.
In the recent entry of Radio Tower, The Hornet’s weekly opinion column, Skazz Fahrenheit, analyzed three songs from the Vietnam War era. The Rolling Stones wrote their song “Gimme Shelter” in 1969 with lyrics like, “Rape, murder, it’s just a shot away,” and the poem “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” by Gil Scott-Heron, became a protest anthem that has been played for decades.
According to an article published by Yale, even though punk began in the United Kingdom, it made its way to the United States in the 1970s with bands like Ramones, the Dead Kennedys and Minor Threat. Its unique aesthetic with tattered pants and patches was a counterculture movement to combat anti-capitalism. Eventually, punk broke societal expectations with movements like Riot Grrrl, which offered “radical feminist camaraderie amongst women.”
A post-hardcore band by the name Letlive has also used their spotlight to remind their following that their music makes their stance on ICE clear.
“This project has always stood as an artistic witness to the world around us. It will always be utilized as a mouthpiece for the truth as we see it and an effort to encourage others to do the same,” posted Letlive. “To speak candidly and confidently, given this premise, we must state plainly and without compromise: Letlive condemn the recent murders committed by ICE agents in Minneapolis and the system that enables it.”
According to an article in Yes Magazine, the political climate for the LGBTQIA+ and Black communities in the late 1900s pioneered subgenres of EDM. In the 1970s, a dance club called The Warehouse was a haven for oppressed groups; the club is where the subgenre, house music, got its name. In the 1980s, techno was pioneered by clubs in Black communities.
Without artists using their music as political statements, genres like emo or drum and bass may not have existed today. Whether through painting, mixed media or movies, artists of all media have used their mediums as expression and political statements. Music is not an outlier.