Music stars target ICE crackdown at Grammy’s ceremony 

Artists accepting awards at this year’s Grammys ceremony have used their time on the podium to denounce the United States government’s crackdown on immigrants.

Artists, including Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish, wore badges reading “ICE OUT” and used their acceptance speeches at Sunday’s ceremony to express their outrage over the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids that have provoked furious protests and resulted in several deaths on the streets and among those in detention.

The celebrity pushback came amid a surging public backlash against ICE operations in multiple cities, which have led to widespread protests over the fatal shootings of two American citizens by federal agents and the arrest of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father.

“Ice out,” said Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny, collecting a Grammy for his album Debi Tirar Mas Fotos. “We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens; we are humans, and we are Americans.”

Bad Bunny’s upcoming half-time performance at this year’s Super Bowl has been singled out for ICE attention by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. She has warned that only “law-abiding Americans who love this country” should attend because federal agents would be “all over” the February 8 event, according to a New York Times report published in October.

Billie Eilish, who received an award for her song “Wildflower”, also made her feelings known from the stage.

“F*** ICE,” said the singer-songwriter. “No one is illegal on stolen land.”

Damian Kulash, lead vocalist of the band OK Go, told news agency Reuters that “feeling any sense of joy and lightness” at the event felt “a little bit irresponsible”.

“Our own government has raised an army of … masked anonymous men to attack its own people, and that feels utterly irresponsible for us to be celebrating anything right now,” he said.

Justin Vernon, whose band Bon Iver is up for best alternative music album, said he wore a whistle to honour the legal observers who are documenting federal agents’ actions on the streets.

Jess Morales Rocketto, executive director of Latino advocacy group Maremoto, told The Associated Press news agency that the show of outrage was “more than a red carpet moment”.

She described a range of industry forces standing in the way of artists’ political expression, with potential objections coming from record companies, managers or corporate partners.