Bruce Springsteen released a new song, “Streets of Minneapolis,” on Wednesday in response to two fatal shootings by federal immigration enforcement agents in the city this month.
Mr. Springsteen wrote the song on Saturday, according to a post on his Instagram account. That day, immigration agents killed a 37-year-old I.C.U. nurse named Alex Pretti after a confrontation. Mr. Springsteen dedicated the song, which he said he recorded on Tuesday, to “the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.”
Ms. Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was killed by an ICE agent in a separate confrontation in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
In the song, Mr. Springsteen describes the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, where a surge of federal agents has led to widespread protests, with activists recording confrontations with their cellphones and thousands of people shutting down streets.
Mr. Springsteen’s lyrics refer to President Trump as a “king” with a “private army,” and they denounce what the song calls the “dirty lies” from the administration.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This month, at a surprise appearance in New Jersey, Mr. Springsteen dedicated a performance of his song “The Promised Land,” a working-class anthem, to Good. At that performance, Mr. Springsteen likened the administration’s actions in Minneapolis to “Gestapo tactics against our fellow citizens.”
Mr. Springsteen has been a vocal critic of Mr. Trump across his two terms, calling him the “most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime” in an endorsement video for former Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign in 2024.
Last year, the singer released a six-track EP of songs and political commentary from performances in Manchester, England. That release begins with remarks that the United States is “in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.”
In response, Mr. Trump wrote on social media that Springsteen “ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT” and called for a “major investigation” into the artist.
Mr. Springsteen has used his lyrics to make political statements for decades. In 2000, he released “American Skin (41 Shots)” about the killing of Amadou Diallo by four New York City police officers.
Other musicians have joined Mr. Springsteen in speaking out against ICE. After Ms. Good was killed, the singer Billie Eilish reposted a graphic on Instagram that called the agency a “federally funded and supported terrorist group,” and after Mr. Pretti’s killing she goaded her fellow celebrities, “u gonna speak up?” The singer Olivia Rodrigo called ICE’s actions “unconscionable” in a post on Instagram.
The musician Tom Morello announced he would hold a concert in Minneapolis on Friday, saying that the proceeds would be donated to the Ms. Good’s and Mr. Pretti’s families.
Last year, the rapper Bad Bunny refused to perform in the mainland United States because, he said, he feared that ICE would target his concerts for immigration raids. Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, has said that immigration agents will be “all over” the Super Bowl in California next month, when Bad Bunny is set to perform the halftime show.
In October, when the country star Zach Bryan released new lyrics warning that ICE agents would “come bust down your door,” Ms. Noem said the song “attacks individuals who are just trying to make our streets safe.” Mr. Bryan later said the lyrics had been “misconstrued.”
Michaela Towfighi is a Times arts and culture reporter and a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for early career journalists.
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