Pop icon Billie Eilish is leveraging her massive global influence to spotlight mounting protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The agency is facing unprecedented scrutiny following the tragic death of a Minnesota woman earlier this week during a federal operation.
On Friday, January 9—just two days after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis—the “Birds of a Feather” singer disseminated a series of poignant social media posts denouncing the agency’s conduct. One shared graphic labeled ICE a “federally funded and supported terrorist group,” with the original creator accusing the organization of “tearing apart families, terrorizing citizens, and now murdering innocent people.”
Demands for Reform and Accountability
Eilish’s advocacy didn’t stop at condemnation. A subsequent post shared to her Instagram Story called for the total abolition of ICE, listing the names of 32 individuals who reportedly died in the agency’s custody over the past year. Furthermore, she encouraged her followers to pressure Congressional representatives to defund the organization and demanded that the officer responsible for Good’s death be immediately arrested and charged.
While the Department of Homeland Security and the Trump administration—including Vice President JD Vance—have maintained that the officer acted in self-defense against an attempted vehicular assault, eyewitness accounts and widely circulated video footage appear to contradict this narrative. The recordings suggest that Good’s vehicle was actually moving away from the officers at the time of the shooting.
Political Friction and Video Evidence
The controversy has become a flashpoint for the administration. Even Donald Trump appeared visibly unsettled after viewing the footage during an Oval Office meeting with a New York Times reporter. “The way I look at it… it’s a terrible scene,” the president reportedly remarked. “I think it’s horrible to watch. No, I hate to see it.”
This is far from Eilish’s first foray into political activism. A staunch critic of the current administration’s immigration policies, the nine-time Grammy winner previously endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. She has also been a vocal opponent of recent ICE raids occurring in her hometown of Los Angeles, consistently using her platform to demand systemic reform.
