Bruce Springsteen made a significant political statement with the surprise release of his protest song, “Streets of Minneapolis,” on Wednesday, January 28. This politically charged track was swiftly composed on Saturday, January 24, and recorded just three days later, on Tuesday, January 27, in direct response to what he termed “the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis.”

Drawing inspiration from folk legend Woody Guthrie, an icon of his, Springsteen’s lyrics powerfully and plainly recount the intense confrontations occurring on the streets of Minneapolis. These battles emerged as citizens actively resisted and pushed back against the sometimes violent immigration raids conducted by the Trump administration. The song specifically honors the memory of two American citizens, Renée Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, and Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, both of whom were killed by border and ICE agents earlier that month. Springsteen dedicated “Streets of Minneapolis” not only to the residents of Minneapolis and “our innocent immigrant neighbors” but also to the enduring memories of Good and Pretti.

The song, described as a Nebraska-like urgent rocker, commences with Springsteen’s vocals accompanied by sparse instrumentation. He vehemently sings, “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.” This opening sets a somber and confrontational tone. By the second verse, the track erupts into a full band roar, echoing his Oscar and Grammy-winning 1994 anthem, “Streets of Philadelphia,” from Jonathan Demme’s 1993 AIDS drama. Springsteen commends the courageous resistance shown by Minneapolis residents against the thousands of masked ICE and other border patrol enlistees who had descended upon the city to implement Trump’s immigration agenda.

He continues to narrate the struggle, singing over chiming guitars and a steady drum beat, “Against smoke and rubber bullets/ By the dawn’s early light/ Citizens stood for justice/ Their voices ringing through the night,” adding, “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 article details the January 7 killing of Renée Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, noting that administration claims of her “weaponizing” her car were contradicted by video evidence showing her attempting to leave the scene of an ICE enforcement action. Similarly, the January 24 killing of Alex Pretti by an unidentified U.S. Border Patrol agent was also scrutinized. Despite Trump and his administration hastily labeling Pretti a “domestic terrorist” and “assassin,” multiple video angles suggested he was attempting to help a woman thrown to the ground during a protest. Pretti, a licensed gun owner, was reportedly disarmed and then shot ten times while prone and pinned by half a dozen masked officers.

Springsteen’s direct lyrics call out the people of Minneapolis, whose voices he says he hears “through the bloody mist,” vowing to take a stand “for this land/ And the stranger in our midst” and to remember the names of those who perished. The song also recalls one of Springsteen’s most intense protest anthems, 2001’s “American Skin (41 Shots),” which was a passionate response to the 1999 NYPD killing of unarmed Amadou Diallo. This new track aligns with his established tradition of responding powerfully to the times, alongside works like the anti-Vietnam War anthem “Born in the U.S.A.” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” a paean to the disenfranchised inspired by John Steinbeck.

Consistent with his disapproval of former President Trump, Springsteen also released “That’s What Makes Us Great” during the first Trump administration, a gritty song that reinterpreted the “Make America Great Again” slogan in defense of immigrants seeking dreams and freedom in America. In “Streets of Minneapolis,” he sings of Pretti, an intensive care nurse at the Department of Veterans Affairs: “Trump’s federal thugs beat up on/ His face and his chest/ Then we heard the gunshots/ And Alex Pretti lay in the snow, dead.” He further challenges official narratives: “Their claim was self defense, sir/ Just don’t believe your eyes./ It’s our blood and bones/ And these whistles and phones/ Against Miller and Noem’s dirty lies,” directly criticizing White House deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who called Pretti an “assassin,” and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who allegedly issued misleading statements claiming Pretti intended to “massacre” agents.

The song concludes with Springsteen lamenting the suppression of rights by officers who readily question or deport individuals with Black or brown skin, while amplifying the frequently heard protest cries of “ICE out now.” In the final, urgent refrain, he sings, “Here in our home they killed and roamed/ In the winter of ’26/ We’ll take our stand for this land/ And the stranger in our midst/ We’ll remember the names of those who died/ On the streets of Minneapolis.”