US Homeland Security has told singer Chappell Roan to 'get a grip' after she criticised Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a concert in Los Angeles. The 27-year-old pop star, known for hits like 'Pink Pony Club', told the crowd at Brookside at the Rose Bowl: 'F*** ICE.'
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, responded to TMZ: 'Pink Pony Club is good. Paedophiles are bad. That’s who we’re getting off of our streets. Get a grip.' ICE is the federal agency under DHS implementing President Trump's immigration enforcement strategy.
Roan, who has lived in Los Angeles for nine years, spoke about the city's community spirit during the wildfires. She said: 'I loved L.A. more than ever when I saw how the community came together... it’s my duty to take care of it back.'
Trump's mass deportation plan has seen over 200,000 people arrested and deported since January, sparking protests. Critics have called the policy 'ruthless' and 'inhumane', with several US citizens reportedly mistakenly detained. A California judge ruled Trump's deployment of the military in LA as 'illegal'.
Homeland Security claims ICE is 'arresting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens including pedophiles, human smugglers, and thieves'. However, government data from September showed that of 59,762 people in ICE detention, 16,523 had no criminal record.
Other celebrities have also spoken out, including Kim Kardashian, who said: 'When we witness innocent, hardworking people being ripped from their families in inhumane ways, we have to speak up.' Bad Bunny cited ICE raids for not touring the US, while Shakira said being an immigrant in the US 'means living in constant fear'.
