Country star Zach Bryan slams ICE in new song lyrics amid increase of raids
Topics: Donald Trump, Immigration, Music, US News
Ellie Kemp
Featured Image Credit: Lorne Thomson/Redferns
Topics: Donald Trump, Immigration, Music, US News
Grammy-winning country artist Zach Bryan has hit out at Donald Trump's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the lyrics of a new song.
The former US Navy veteran shared a short clip of his unreleased music on October 3.
Unveiling the lyrics to his 4.9 million Instagram followers, Bryan sang: "I heard the cops came/ Cocky m*****s, ain’t they?
"And ICE is gonna come bust down your door / Try to build a house no one builds no more / But I got a telephone / Kids are all scared and all alone."
Advert
He continued: "The middle finger’s rising, and it won’t stop showing / Got some bad news / The fading of the red, white and blue."
Bryan then captioned the voice note with the line: "The fading of the red, white and blue."
It comes as ICE activity has intensified after Donald Trump returned to the White House for his second run as president in January.
Despite Bryan's ICE criticism, he's long been a supporter of the armed forces, having served in the Navy for eight years.
Bryan, who was born on Okinawa, Japan where his parents were stationed on deployment, enlisted at 17 years old as a second class Aviation Ordnanceman.
He served tours in Bahrain and Djibouti before receiving an honorable discharge to pursue music in 2021.
Reflecting on his time in the services, Bryan wrote in an Instagram post: "It made a man out of me, truly.
"If it was my decision, I would never get out of the worlds greatest Navy, but here I am and they kindly honorably discharged me to go play some music."
He added: "The best eight years of my life were spent serving the best country in the whole damn world."
In 2023, the 'I Remember Everything' star's mugshot went viral when he was arrested by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol for obstruction in Vinita, Oklahoma.
In a social media video, Bryan admitted he was 'out of line' and was ultimately released on bail.
Bryan isn't the only celebrity to publicly speak out against increasing ICE raids.
Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny confirmed he'd be dodging the US on his Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour over fears of agents attending his shows.
He is set to perform 57 dates on the tour, which kicks off in the Dominican Republic next month and wraps up in Belgium in July 2026.
"There were many reasons why I didn't show up in the US, and none of them were out of hate - I've performed there many times," he said in an interview with Variety, adding that all of his shows have been 'magnificent' on US soil.
However, he said American citizens 'could come' to Puerto Rico to see his shows, whereas there would be 'the issue' of 'f**king ICE' outside his concerts in the states.
However it's transpired the rapper - real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio - will be making a stop in the US after all.
Ocasio was recently confirmed as February's Super Bowl Half Time Show act, his hypocrisy sparking significant backlash.
Hosting Saturday Night Live on October 4, Bad Bunny addressed his critics with a tongue-in-cheek jibe in his opening monologue, stating 'everyone is happy about it - even Fox News'.
The rapper then thanked Latinos and Latinas of the world and the US, adding: "Our footprints and our contribution in this country, no one will ever be able to take that away or erase it."
Meanwhile, Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski said ICE agents would be stationed at the Super Bowl.
"There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and no where else. We will find and deport you," he said.
"I don't care if it's a concert for Johnny Smith or Bad Bunny or anybody else. We're going to do enforcement everywhere."