Photo Credit: Zach Bryan (YouTube)
Country sensation Zach Byan sparks controversy with a clip of new music criticizing ICE raids, much to the chagrin of the US government.
Zach Bryan made headlines over the weekend after sharing a clip on his Instagram account of a new song he’s working on, which criticizes ICE raids and the police. The lyrics have sparked the ire of the White House and the Department of Homeland Security, under the latter of which ICE falls.
“ICE is gonna come bust down your door / Try and build a house no one builds no more / But I got a telephone / Kids are all scared and all alone,” sings Bryan. “The bars stopped bumpin’ / The rock stopped rollin’ / The middle finger rising, and it won’t stop showing / Got some bad news / The fading of the red, white, and blue.”
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, reacted to Bryan’s clip on the former Twitter. “Stick to ‘Pink Skies,’ dude,” she wrote, referring to Bryan’s hit 2024 song about childhood.
Meanwhile, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement to Newsweek: “While Zach Bryan wants to Open The Gates [sic] to criminal illegal aliens and has Condemned heroic ICE officers, Something in the Orange tells me a majority of Americans disagree with him and support President Trump’s Great American Revival. Godspeed, Zach!”
While MAGA loyalists have condemned the song, others have praised Bryan for addressing such a politically sensitive topic in his music. The controversy is timely, given intensified scrutiny of ICE amid the Trump administration’s expanded deportation efforts. Critics have questioned the agency’s tactics, while supporters have defended its role in enforcing immigration laws.
Last month, Zach Bryan set a new record for the highest ticketed concert in the U.S., when a crowd of 112,408 fans attended his show at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. The record was previously held by another country artist, the legendary George Strait, who played to a crowd of 110,905 in College Station, Texas, in 2024.
