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DHS Lashes Out At Pop Star Over Anti-ICE Posts

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Finneas Billie Eilish
Photo Credit: The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

DHS blasted pop star Billie Eilish for spreading what it called reckless attacks on ICE after a deadly Minneapolis shooting that ignited celebrity outrage and political pressure.

The clash began after Eilish reshared Instagram posts labeling Immigration and Customs Enforcement a “federally funded terrorist group” and accusing agents of doing nothing to make communities safer.

Those reposts followed the fatal shooting of 37-years-old Renee Nicole Good during an encounter with immigration agents in Minneapolis, an incident DHS has described as self-defense.

Federal officials stated the confrontation escalated when Good allegedly accelerated her SUV toward an agent while another officer ordered her to exit the vehicle.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin responded to Billboard, sending a statement late Friday pushing back on Eilish’s claims.

“Clearly, Billie Eilish has not seen the newly released footage, which corroborates what DHS has stated all along — that this individual was impeding law enforcement and weaponized her vehicle in an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to federal law enforcement,” McLaughlin wrote.

McLaughlin also posted video of the January 7 shooting on X, arguing the footage supports the agency’s account.

She maintained the agent involved had been “in fear of his own life [and] the lives of his fellow officers and acted in self-defense.”

The administration framed the incident as a tragedy intensified by activism targeting federal immigration enforcement.

President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, publicly defended the agent’s actions while acknowledging the loss of life.

McLaughlin stressed that public scrutiny should focus on the footage rather than celebrity narratives.

“The American people can watch this video with their own eyes and ears and judge for themselves,” she told Billboard.

Despite that response, Eilish continued amplifying criticism of ICE, resharing a call to “abolish ICE.”

Another repost urged followers to contact members of Congress and demand that Ross be arrested and charged for killing Good.

One of the reshared messages accused ICE of being “domestic terrorists tearing apart families. Terrorizing citizens. And now murdering innocent people.”

McLaughlin directly rejected that claim, disputing how family separations are handled. “ICE does not separate families,” she responded.

“Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates.”

She argued that those policies are not new, tying them to prior administrations.

“This is consistent with past administrations’ immigration enforcement,” McLaughlin added.

She also linked messaging from celebrities to escalating threats against officers.

“It’s garbage rhetoric from the likes of Billie Eilish that is leading to a 1,300% increase in assaults and 3,200% increase in vehicle rammings against our brave law enforcement,” she warned.

Eilish was not alone in condemning ICE following the shooting. On Saturday, rocker Dave Matthews posted a video accusing ICE of “murdering” Good.

“I don’t want my taxes to pay for ICE, to masked thugs to roam our streets and terrorize our communities and rip families apart,” Matthews declared.

He argued the country should focus on compassion and social services instead of immigration enforcement.

“We should be taking care of each other. We should be minding each other. We should be housing the homeless. We shouldn’t be, you know, throwing people to the ground,” he continued.

Matthews also used the video to criticize broader foreign and domestic policy, including U.S. actions abroad and immigration operations.

“Which brings me to Renee Nicole Good, murdered in front of her fellow citizens in Minneapolis, murdered in the streets, and no matter what narrative this administration is trying to sell us, we can see the videos,” he claimed.

He dismissed the administration’s self-defense explanation, insisting Good was “murdered in cold blood.”

“It’s mind-boggling, and it’s deeply upsetting to me and to so many people, and we can’t just let it slide,” Matthews added.

The musician also turned his attacks towards senior administration figures by name.

“To Trump, to Kristi Noem, to Stephen Miller, to Pete Hegseth, to [Kash] Patel to [Pam] Bondi to all of them, just deeply, deeply dishonest people,” he ranted. “F–k them. They are revolting.”

Matthews later declared he was “deeply ashamed of this government” over immigration enforcement.

“F–k ICE. Yeah. If that language offends you … Come on. We all heard it before. I hope you know where my heart is,” he added.

Other entertainers echoed similar sentiments. The British band Duran Duran paused a Sacramento concert to acknowledge Good.

“We believe that people in this world have a right to live their lives in peace and lives of freedom and happiness in their own country,” frontman Simon Le Bon told the crowd.

“For all the ordinary people in this world, we wish upon you an ordinary world.”

Actors also signaled support during awards season. Mark Ruffalo, Wanda Sykes, Natasha Lyonne, and Jean Smart appeared wearing anti-ICE “Be Good” pins at the Golden Globes.

Sykes spoke out on the red carpet, calling for resistance. “We need to speak up and shut this rogue government down. It’s awful what they are doing to people,” she said.

Actress Lea Thompson joined the backlash online, directing anger at the agency.

The “Back to the Future” star wrote that she was “f–king pissed” an ICE agent belonged to an organization she accused of being able to “shoot up people with no reason.”

Identifying herself as a Minneapolis native, Thompson said the shooting felt personal.

“Why do people think they can just go in and fucking shoot up people, for no reason, and then get away with it,” she tweeted.

She urged activism through voting and protests while encouraging kindness among supporters.

“We can fight back, we can make sure we vote, we can march, and we can be kind to each other, OK? We got this.”

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