Bruce Springsteen, the legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, released a powerful new protest song titled “Streets of Minneapolis” on Thursday, January 29. The song, a raw, Woody Guthrie-style anthem, was written and recorded rapidly by Springsteen, inspired by what he termed the “state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis.” It directly addresses the controversial “Operation Metro Surge” immigration enforcement action, which saw thousands of border patrol and ICE troops deployed to the city, leading to the deaths of U.S. citizens Renée Good and Alex Pretti, both 37, who were reportedly gunned down by immigration enforcement troops.

Springsteen's song uses stark, plain language to narrate the intense pushback from Minneapolis residents against the aggressive tactics of Trump’s immigration enforcers. Lyrics like “Through the winter’s ice and cold/ Down Nicollet Avenue/ A city aflame fought fire and ice/ ‘Neath an occupier’s boots/ King Trump’s private army from the DHS/ Guns belted to their coats/ Came to Minneapolis to enforce the law/ Or so their story goes” vividly depict the scene. The acoustic anthem escalates into a full rock roar, incorporating recordings of Minneapolis residents chanting “ICE OUT!” and memorializing Good and Pretti: “And there were bloody footprints/ Where mercy should have stood/ And two dead left to die on snow-filled streets/ Alex Pretti and Renee Good.”

The Trump administration, through White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson, quickly dismissed Springsteen’s song as “irrelevant” in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. Jackson asserted that the administration's focus was on encouraging state and local Democrats to cooperate with federal law enforcement in removing “dangerous criminal illegal aliens” from communities, rather than on