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President Donald Trump’s border chief vowed Thursday to press on with the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis but said a plan to “draw down” the number of federal agents in the city is in the works.”We’re going to make sure we do targeted enforcement operations,” Tom Homan told reporters. “We are not surrendering our mission at all. We’re just doing it smarter.””President Trump wants this fixed. And I’m going to fix it.”The border chief called on Minnesota’s residents to turn down the temperature and stop what he called “hateful rhetoric” against federal agents carrying out immigration raids.Minneapolis has been gripped by weeks of protests against the roundup of undocumented migrants by masked and heavily armed federal agents. Two Americans demonstrating against the sweeps have been shot dead by officers.Homan struck a conciliatory tone at his first press conference, a marked difference from the Border Patrol commander who was previously heading the mission on the ground and has since been removed.”Community safety is paramount,” Homan said. “The mission is going to improve because of the changes we’re making internally.”President Trump and I, along with others in the administration, have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made,” he said. “That’s exactly what I’m doing here.”Homan said his staff is “working on a drawdown plan” for some of the more than 3,000 federal agents who have been taking part in what the Trump administration has dubbed “Operation Metro Surge.”Increased cooperation from authorities in the Democratic-run state is key, he said.One such measure, for example, would be notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents about the release dates of incarcerated migrants considered “criminal public safety risks” so they can be detained by ICE, he said.”More agents in the jail means less agents in the street,” Homan said. “This is commonsense cooperation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here.”Steven Gagner, a 41-year-old jewelry designer and “citizen observer” in Minneapolis, was skeptical about the drawdown.”We’ll believe it when we see it, because this administration has proven time and time again that they just lie to us and they do not really hold themselves or anyone else accountable,” he told AFP.- ‘Will be dealt with’ -Homan declined to comment on the latest shooting in Minneapolis by federal agents — that of 37-year-old Veterans Hospital nurse Alex Pretti — saying he would “let the investigation play out and see where it goes.”The two agents involved in Saturday’s shooting have been placed on leave and Homan said any federal agents who breach standards of conduct “will be dealt with.”Trump has scrambled to stem outrage across the political aisle over Pretti’s killing and that of another protestor, Renee Good, saying Tuesday he wanted to “de-escalate a little bit” in Minneapolis.But the president on Wednesday accused the city’s mayor Jacob Frey of “PLAYING WITH FIRE” for refusing to rally local police to enforce the federal immigration sweeps.The political battle has landed in Congress, where Democrats are threatening to hold up swaths of government funding if reforms are not made to rein in the sprawling paramilitary-style immigration agencies.In another challenge to Trump’s immigration crackdown, a federal judge ruled Wednesday to halt the detention of refugees in Minnesota awaiting permanent resident status and ordered the release of those in custody.Meanwhile, another federal judge slammed ICE chief Todd Lyons, claiming he “has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.”The White House initially justified Saturday’s fatal shooting of Pretti with Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem calling him a “domestic terrorist.”But a widespread backlash forced Trump to shuffle leadership of operations in Minneapolis, replacing Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino with Homan.

Melania Trump on Thursday premieres her new movie promising a behind the scenes glimpse at her husband’s return to power — a documentary funded by an extraordinary multi-million-dollar deal with Amazon.Titled simply “Melania,” the documentary is getting a red carpet screening at the newly renamed Trump-Kennedy center in Washington, attended by both the US First Lady and President Donald Trump himself.But amid reports of soft ticket sales for the Slovenian-born 55-year-old’s movie, the huge fee paid by the US tech giant has raised questions about whether Amazon is merely trying to curry favor with the president.”My new film Melania provides a window into an important period for America,” Melania Trump said as she rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.”For the first time in history, people will witness the 20 days leading up to the inauguration through the eyes of an incoming first lady.”Melania Trump has been an often mysterious figure since President Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025, preferring to spend her time with the couple’s son Barron in New York and Florida.But she said the film, which goes on global release on Friday and will later be shown exclusively on Amazon Prime, would give people a look behind the enigma. “They will see how I work, who I am, how I communicate with people, and they will know me a little bit more,” she told Fox and Friends on Wednesday.A teaser for the documentary released in December showed the former model looking to the camera just before her husband’s second swearing-in at the US Capitol and saying: “Here we go again.”The Trumps held a private screening at the White House on Saturday — hours after immigration agents shot dead protester Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in an incident that has sparked national outrage.In one of a series of promotional interviews this week for the film, Melania Trump called for “unity” after the Minneapolis killing.- ‘MUST WATCH’ -While it promises an “unprecedented” glimpse into her life, “Melania” has also given an insight into the way US business titans have lined up to pay tribute to the Trump administration in the past year.Amazon tycoon Bezos has grown notably closer to Trump, securing a prime seat at the inauguration and telling the Washington Post newspaper he owns to favor pro-business editorials.US media say that of Amazon’s $40 licensing deal for the film, Melania, who served as executive producer, will receive 70 percent. The next highest bid, from Disney, was reportedly only $14 million.On top of that Amazon has reportedly paid for a stunning $35 million marketing campaign including television commercials, billboards and a simulcast in 25 theaters at the same time as Thursday’s premiere.”How can it not be equated with currying favor or an outright bribe?” Ted Hope, a former Amazon film executive, was quoted as saying by the New York Times. Billionaire Trump has faced repeated criticism that his family members are profiting from deals made off the back of his presidency. The White House says Trump is already rich and makes no money from his position.For his part, President Trump has said on his Truth Social account that “Melania” is “A MUST WATCH.”But across the rest of social media, the film and its PR campaign have drawn ridicule with several internet users posting screenshots showing cinemas that have sold no seats for screenings of “Melania.”In South Africa, the country’s main cinema houses have pulled the documentary with the distributor citing “the current climate”, without elaborating, local media reported.The South African government has strained ties with Trump’s administration, which has repeated false accusations that Pretoria is behind a “white genocide” of the Afrikaans community.The film has also drawn controversy over its choice of director. It is the first major project for Brett Ratner since multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct in 2017, allegations he denies.”He was very talented,” Melania Trump told Fox. “He was the best one, and he was great to work with.”

US senators looked likely to reject a key vote Thursday to avert another damaging shutdown in President Donald Trump’s second term, with Democrats blocking funding for his immigration crackdown after the killings of two activists by federal agents.Lawmakers in the Republican-led upper chamber of Congress are being asked to approve a six-bill spending package intended to fund more than three-quarters of the federal government through the rest of the 2026 fiscal year. But Democrats have vowed to block the measure unless funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is peeled away and renegotiated to include guardrails on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the most generously funded US law-enforcement agency.That would leave the chamber’s 53 Republicans short of the 60 votes needed to advance the legislation towards final passage, leaving Washington bracing for another disruptive shutdown as negotiations slide toward a Friday night deadline.”The bottom line is simple: the American people support law enforcement, they support border security, but they do not support ICE terrorizing our streets and killing American citizens,” said Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.”ICE needs to be held to the same basic standards that any law enforcement agency is asked to follow.”If funding lapses, hundreds of thousands of public employees could be placed on leave or forced to work without pay, with economic disruption rippling outward. The standoff — which comes with particularly high stakes in a year in which the entire House and around a third of the Senate are up for reelection — has been triggered by an incendiary row over immigration enforcement.Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse protesting Trump’s deportation efforts in the northern city of Minneapolis, was shot dead Saturday by border patrol agents — just weeks after immigration officers killed another activist, Renee Good, blocks away.The incidents shattered what had appeared to be a stable bipartisan funding deal and refocused congressional debate on the conduct of immigration officers operating under Trump’s aggressive crackdown.- ‘Talks are ongoing’ -Schumer has demanded that DHS funding be split off from the broader spending package and addressed separately, paired with new legal limits on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and related agencies. Democrats say they are prepared to pass the other five bills immediately — covering departments such as defense, health, education, transportation and financial services — if Republicans agree to that separation.Democrats are pushing for an end to roving ICE patrols, tightening requirements for search warrants, establishing a universal code of conduct governing the use of force, prohibiting officers from wearing masks and mandating body cameras and proper identification.Republican leaders have resisted splitting the package, arguing that altering the legislation would slow passage and risk triggering the very shutdown Democrats say they want to avoid. The House and Senate both have to approve the exact same bill texts before they can become law. But the House is on a break and not expected to return until after the shutdown deadline, complicating any attempt to revise the package. Yet signs of movement have begun emerging, with some Republican senators indicating openness to advancing the five non-DHS bills alongside a short-term funding measure to keep Homeland Security operating while talks continue.Lawmakers have also raised concerns about the consequences of a DHS shutdown for agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during severe winter weather.The White House has also become more directly involved in the negotiations as the vote approaches, according to US media, with Trump aides exploring whether a temporary DHS funding extension could defuse the crisis. Democrats, however, have warned they will not accept informal assurances or executive actions in place of legislation.

President Donald Trump’s border chief vowed Thursday to press on with the federal immigration crackdown in Minneapolis while acknowledging the mission needed to improve and promising to hold agents to account.”We’re going to make sure we do targeted enforcement operations,” Tom Homan told reporters in the Minnesota city. “We are not surrendering our mission at all. We’re just doing it smarter.””President Trump wants this fixed. And I’m going to fix it.”The border czar called on Minnesota’s residents to turn down the temperature and stop what he called “hateful rhetoric” against federal agents carrying out immigration raids.Minneapolis has been gripped by weeks of protests against the roundup of undocumented migrants. Two Americans demonstrating against the sweeps have been shot dead by federal agents.Homan struck a conciliatory tone at his first press conference, a marked difference from the Border Patrol commander who was previously heading the mission on the ground and has since been removed.”One thing everybody I talked to agreed on was that community safety is paramount,” Homan said.”The mission is going to improve because of the changes we’re making internally,” he said. “President Trump and I, along with others in the administration, have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made.””That’s exactly what I’m doing here,” he said.Homan said any federal agents who breach codes of conduct “will be dealt with.”The two agents involved in the latest shooting — that of 37-year-old Veterans Hospital nurse Alex Pretti — have been placed on leave pending an investigation. Trump has scrambled to stem outrage across the political aisle over the killing, saying Tuesday he wanted to “de-escalate a little bit” in Minneapolis.But the president on Wednesday accused the city’s mayor Jacob Frey of “PLAYING WITH FIRE” for refusing to rally local police to enforce the federal immigration sweeps.- Funding showdown -The political battle could soon move to Congress, where Democrats are threatening to hold up authorization for swathes of government funding if reforms are not made to rein in the sprawling military-style immigration agencies.Frey responded Wednesday to Trump ramping up his rhetoric, writing on X: “The job of our police is to keep people safe, not enforce fed immigration laws.”In another challenge to Trump’s immigration crackdown, a federal judge ruled Wednesday to halt the detention of refugees in Minnesota awaiting permanent resident status and ordered the release of those in custody.Meanwhile, another federal judge slammed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief Todd Lyons, claiming he “has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.”The White House initially justified Saturday’s fatal shooting of Pretti, an intensive care nurse, whom Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem described as a “domestic terrorist.”But a widespread backlash forced Trump to shuffle leadership of immigration operations in Minneapolis, replacing Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino with Homan.Trump’s focus on Minnesota is linked to a probe into alleged corruption by Somali immigrants in the state, which he and right-wing allies have amplified as an example of what they say is a fight against alleged criminal immigrants.The president has persistently targeted Somali-born congresswoman Ilhan Omar, saying she should be sent back to Somalia.In the latest sign of a deteriorating political climate, a man sprayed Omar with an unknown liquid while she was giving a speech late Tuesday, before being tackled by security and arrested.

US President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan was set to present his plans on Thursday as the new face of the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, after two federal agents involved in the fatal shooting of an American citizen were placed on leave.The agents were placed on leave on Saturday, which Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said is “standard protocol,” after 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot multiple times and forced to the ground in a scuffle captured on video.Trump has scrambled to stem outrage across the political aisle over the killing, saying Tuesday he wanted to “de-escalate a little bit” in Minneapolis.But the president backpedaled his conciliatory note Wednesday, accusing the city’s mayor Jacob Frey of “PLAYING WITH FIRE” for refusing to rally local police to enforce the federal immigration sweeps.The political battle could soon move to Congress, where Democrats are threatening to hold up authorization for swathes of US government funding if reforms are not made to rein in the sprawling military-style immigration agencies.Frey responded Wednesday to Trump ramping up his rhetoric, writing on X: “The job of our police is to keep people safe, not enforce fed immigration laws.”In another blow to Trump’s immigration crackdown, a federal judge ruled Wednesday to halt the detention of refugees in Minnesota awaiting permanent resident status and ordered the release of those in detention.Meanwhile, another federal judge slammed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief Todd Lyons, claiming he “has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.”The White House initially justified Saturday’s fatal shooting of Pretti, an intensive care nurse, whom Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem described as a “domestic terrorist.”But widespread backlash forced Trump to shuffle leadership of immigration operations in Minneapolis, replacing Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino with policy-focused Homan.Homan is expected to hold a press conference at 7 am (1300 GMT) Thursday in Minneapolis, the White House said.- Fury -While the White House insists it is targeting hardened criminals, the use of masked, heavily armed men to snatch people from streets, homes and workplaces has caused widespread shock.That turned to fury this month after immigration agents shot dead two Minneapolis protesters at point-blank range in separate incidents — Pretti and Renee Good, who are both US citizens.Top Trump aide Stephen Miller initially justified Pretti’s killing by branding him a “would-be assassin” — despite video evidence clearly showing the nurse posed no threat as he was shot in the back while pinned down on the ground.Miller later said the federal agents who killed Pretti “may not have been following that protocol.”Clashes between protesters and federal immigration officers who are deployed to Democratic cities have become increasingly common. In Minneapolis, 39-year-old community activist Jennifer Arnold said little has changed since Trump’s promise to ease tensions in the city.”The Trump administration is saying that they’re going to change tactics…but we are not experiencing anything different,” Arnold told AFP.- Omar attacked -Trump’s focus on Minnesota is linked to a probe into alleged corruption by Somali immigrants in the state, which he and right-wing allies have amplified as an example of what they say is a fight against alleged criminal immigrants.The president has persistently targeted Somali-born congresswoman Ilhan Omar, saying she should be sent back to Somalia.In the latest sign of a deteriorating political climate, a man sprayed Omar with an unknown liquid while she was giving a speech late Tuesday, before being tackled by security.The suspect, 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, was arrested on suspicion of assault.

A US plan to step up scrutiny of foreign visitors’ social media use threatens to cut tourist spending by up to $15.7 billion this year as people decide to stay away, an industry group said Thursday.A survey of potential travellers to the United States from visa-exempt countries found that 34 percent said they were “somewhat or much less likely to visit the US in the next two to three years” if the policy goes into effect, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.It estimated that could lead to 4.7 million fewer international arrivals this year, a 24 percent drop from average levels, and potentially reduce US tourism sector jobs by 157,000.The US proposal laid out in December would apply to visitors from 42 countries, including Britain, France, Australia and Japan, who do not need a visa to enter the United States.Currently, those travellers need apply only for a waiver known as the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).Under the new rules, the collection of social media data including use history from the past five years would become a “mandatory” part of ESTA applications.Applicants would also have to complete other “high-value data fields” including phone numbers from the last five years, email addresses from the past decade, personal details of family members and biometric information.The WTTC, made up of leading travel firms, said most respondents in its survey said the proposed requirements “would make the US feel less welcoming and less attractive for both leisure and business travel”.”Security at the US border is vital but the planned policy changes will damage job creation,” the council’s president Gloria Guevara said in a statement.It had already warned last May that an immigration crackdown by US President Donald Trump’s administration, with masked agents fanning out across cities in controversial patrols, could result in a loss of $12.5 billion in foreign tourism revenue in 2025.In 2024, the tourism sector contributed $2.6 trillion to the US economy and supported more than 20 million jobs. It also generated over $585 billion in tax revenues, or almost seven percent of the total.

US President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan was set Thursday to present his plans at his first press conference as the new face of the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, after the agents involved in the fatal shooting of a nurse were placed on leave.The two officers were on leave — a move US officials said was “standard protocol” — since Saturday, when 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot multiple times after being forced to the ground by camouflaged agents in a scuffle captured on video.Trump has scrambled to stem outrage across the political aisle over the killing, saying Tuesday he wanted to “de-escalate a little bit” in Minneapolis.But the president backpedaled his conciliatory note Wednesday, accusing the city’s mayor Jacob Frey of “PLAYING WITH FIRE” for refusing to rally local police to enforce the federal immigration crackdown.The political battle could soon move to Congress, where Democrats are threatening to hold up authorization for swaths of US government funding if reforms are not made to rein in the sprawling military-style immigration agencies.Frey responded Wednesday to Trump ramping up his rhetoric, writing on X: “The job of our police is to keep people safe, not enforce fed immigration laws.””I want them preventing homicides, not hunting down a working dad,” he added, referring to the Ecuadoran father of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, both of whom are being held in a Texas facility after being detained by federal agents in the suburbs of Minneapolis. The White House initially justified Saturday’s fatal shooting of Pretti, an intensive care nurse whom Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem described as a “domestic terrorist.”But the backlash that ensued has forced Trump to shuffle the leadership of immigration agents deployed in Minneapolis.He replaced the confrontational Greg Bovino, known for reveling in aggressive, televised immigration crackdowns, with the policy-focused Homan.Homan was set to hold a press conference at 7 am (1300 GMT) Thursday in Minneapolis, the White House said. Another high-ranking official, Attorney General Pam Bondi, was in Minneapolis on Wednesday as she announced the arrests of 16 Minnesota “rioters” for allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement. – Fury -While the White House insists it is targeting hardened criminals, the use of masked, heavily armed men to snatch people from streets, homes and workplaces has caused widespread shock.That turned to fury this month after immigration agents shot dead two Minneapolis protesters at point-blank range in separate incidents — Pretti and Renee Good, both US citizens.Top Trump aide Stephen Miller initially justified Pretti’s killing by branding him a “would-be assassin” — despite video evidence clearly showing the nurse posed no threat as he was shot in the back while pinned down on the ground. Late Tuesday, Miller said the Customs and Border Patrol agents who killed Pretti “may not have been following that protocol.”Meanwhile, US networks aired video reportedly showing Pretti in another violent scuffle with agents more than a week before his killing. The footage could not be immediately verified. Clashes between protesters and federal immigration officers who are deployed to Democratic cities are increasingly common. In Minneapolis, 39-year-old community activist Jennifer Arnold said little has changed since Trump’s promise to ease tensions in the city.”The Trump administration is saying that they’re going to change tactics…but we are not experiencing anything different on the ground, people are still being snatched off the streets,” Arnold told AFP.- Immigrant politician attacked -Trump’s focus on Minnesota is linked to a probe into alleged corruption by Somali immigrants in the state, which he and right-wing allies have amplified as an example of what they say is a fight against criminal immigrants.The president has persistently targeted Somali-born congresswoman Ilhan Omar for insults and mockery, saying she should be sent back to Somalia.In the latest sign of a deteriorating political climate, a man sprayed Omar with an unknown liquid while she was giving a speech late Tuesday, before being tackled by security.The suspect, 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, was arrested on suspicion of assault.Speaking to reporters in Minneapolis Wednesday evening, Omar said Trump’s attacks against her helped fuel the incident.”I wouldn’t be where I am at today, having to pay for security, having the government to think about providing me security, if Donald Trump wasn’t in office, and if he wasn’t so obsessed with me,” Omar said. She added, however, that such intimidation “hasn’t worked thus far, and it’s not going to work in the future.”

South Africa’s main cinema houses have pulled a documentary about US First Lady Melania Trump just ahead of its release, with the distributor citing “the current climate”, local media reported.”Melania” was not listed on the websites of the Nu Metro or Ster Kinekor theatres on Thursday, the day before its international release on January 30.News24 media reported Wednesday the South African distributor Filmfinity had abruptly dropped the film.”Given the current climate, the film will no longer be releasing theatrically in (the) territory,” the site quoted the distributor’s head of marketing, Thobashan Govindarajulu, as saying. It was not clear what “climate” he was referring to and AFP could not immediately reach a company representative for details.Nu Metro confirmed to AFP Thursday that it had been told by Filmfinity to withdraw the film. “The rights sit with Filmfinity, and it’s at their request that we are not releasing it,” Nu Metro said in a statement. The South African government has strained ties with the administration of President Donald Trump, which has criticised Pretoria’s position on a range of domestic and international policies.Trump has notably repeated false claims that Pretoria is behind a “genocide” of the white Afrikaans community, which he has invited to settle in the United States.

Texas state police officers on Wednesday used tear gas to disperse a demonstration outside a US immigration detention facility where protesters demanded the release of a 5-year-old Ecuadoran boy among others swept up in the Trump administration’s immigration clampdown. About 100 protesters gathered at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley on Wednesday, carrying signs accusing the federal agents of terrorizing communities.”We want Kristi Noem impeached. We want the US Senate to defund ICE, to not give it any more money. And we need people to pay attention to the midterm elections this year,” local elected official Christina Morales told AFP.Texas state law enforcement responded to the protest in riot gear, deploying tear gas cannisters, including one that landed near two AFP journalists, striking and temporarily incapacitating one of them.Earlier, Democratic congressmembers Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett conducted an inspection to visit the child, Liam Conejo Ramos, and 1,100 others detained there. “His dad said that he hasn’t been himself, and he’s been sleeping a lot because he’s been depressed and sad,” Castro said in a video message posted to X, in which the congressman insists Ramos and his family were “legally in the United States.”National outcry followed images of the apparently terrified preschooler, dressed in a fluffy blue bunny hat and wearing his school backpack, being held by immigration officers who were seeking to arrest the boy’s father in Minneapolis. The child and his Ecuadoran father, Adrian Conejo Arias — both asylum seekers — were taken from their driveway as they arrived home on January 20, after the child was used as “bait” by officers to draw out those inside his home, according to the superintendent of the boy’s school, Zena Stenvik. A federal judge temporarily blocked their deportation Tuesday.Castro also demanded the release of everyone else being held at the privately-run facility, saying “there are no criminals in Dilley. Donald Trump said this was about arresting illegal criminal ‘aliens’ — that’s his language. There isn’t a single criminal over there.”

American singer-songwriters are taking up the protest torch like their forebears Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Joan Baez, releasing tracks featuring searing criticism of Donald Trump and homage to Minneapolis residents killed this month by federal immigration agents.Eighty years after folk icon Guthrie scrawled “This Machine Kills Fascists” on his guitar, his musical heirs are savaging President Donald Trump on his immigration crackdown, his renamed Department of War, the US attack on Venezuela, Republican opposition to health care subsidies, and Washington’s glaring failure to tackle American poverty.This week, after two US citizen residents of Minneapolis were fatally shot in January by federal officers, folk and protest singers unveiled scalding musical assaults on the establishment.A musical collective called the Singing Resistance has taken to the streets and churches of Minneapolis, singing about love and community but also about their call to “abolish ICE,” the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency at the heart of aggressive operations in the Minnesota city and elsewhere.Other protest singers are embracing today’s most reliable pathway to getting music into young people’s ears: Instagram and TikTok.”Genuine American Hero,” a folksy, guitar-driven track by little-known musician Joseph Terrell about the death of Renee Good at the hands of a federal agent, has quickly become an anti-ICE anthem, generating millions of views online.”He keeps us safe and snatches us inside our homes and offices, yes he’s a genuine American hero,” Terrell sneers of Good’s killer who “shot her in the face in her SUV.””I wrote it on Monday because I’d been stewing in anger about ICE,” Terrell posted on Instagram, adding he was stunned by the reception it received.”I’m glad it’s been reaching yall as we try and make sense of this moment.”- ‘Join ICE’ -Folk musician Jesse Welles has been reaching a far larger audience. Over the past year, the shaggy-haired guitarist and singer has emerged as a modern-day protest troubadour, collaborating with Baez, selling out concert halls, and soaring to rarified fame on social media.His songs’ videos have racked up more than 200 million views on TikTok alone. He has been nominated for four Grammy’s this year, including Best Folk Album.”Join ICE, boy ain’t it nice. Join ICE, take my advice. If you’re lacking control and authority, come with me and hunt down minorities,” Welles, 33, sings in a satirical twang.With civil unrest and outrage churning in Minnesota and elsewhere, some established musical stars, most notably Bruce Springsteen, are getting in on protest art.On Wednesday the rock icon released “Streets of Minneapolis,” a fiery song about the fatal shootings there and “King Trump’s private army” wearing “occupiers’ boots” as they carry out the president’s mass deportation campaign.Some emerging artists have parlayed ferocious ICE criticism into a growing following, including country singer Bryan Andrews, who has garnered millions of views on TikTok for his songs and outspoken commentary about the conservative MAGA movement, ICE raids and the killings in Minneapolis.But mainstream country music, with its conservative legacy, is less likely to embrace protest calls to arms, especially after star Zach Bryan faced backlash last year for his politically charged “Bad News.”The song offered not-so-subtle condemnation of ICE operations and earned criticism in Nashville — and reproach from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who called the track “completely disrespectful.”