The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fired back at pop star Chappell Roan after she denounced Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a recent concert in California.
The 27-year-old singer performed two shows at Brookside at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on October 10 and 11.
On the first night, Roan paused her set to speak about her connection to Los Angeles, where she has lived for nearly a decade.
Highlights
- Chappell Roan openly criticized ICE during a concert in Los Angeles, chanting 'F**k ICE forever' with the crowd.
- DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin responded sharply, telling Roan to 'get a grip' and defending ICE's role.
- ICE has deported over 200,000 people since January under President Trump's intensified immigration enforcement.
DHS fired back at Chappell Roan after she denounced ICE during a concert
Image credits: Joseph Okpako/Getty Images
“L.A.’s my favorite city in the world, to be honest,” Roan told the crowd, according to Variety.
“I’ve been living here nine years. I’m originally from Missouri, and I had a really, really tough time the first five years.”
“I’m not gonna be eloquent about this. I loved L.A. more than ever when I saw how the community came together in Altadena to help, same with the Palisades,” she said.
She continued, “I just realized that I’m so lucky to be able to live here and to play here, and the city has taken care of me, and it’s my duty to take care of it back.”
She then said, “F**k ICE forever,” and the crowd chanted along as she repeated the statement.
Image credits: Mario Tama/Getty Images
ICE has drawn growing criticism this year after intensifying immigration raids and mass deportations under U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
More than 200,000 people have reportedly been arrested and deported since January as part of Trump’s anti-immigration strategy.
DHS responded swiftly to Roan’s ICE comments. “‘Pink Pony Club’ is good. Pedophiles are bad. That’s who we’re getting off of our streets. Get a grip,” Tricia McLaughlin, the department’s assistant secretary for public affairs, told TMZ, mentioning the artist’s popular song.
More than 200,000 people have been arrested and deported by ICE since January
Image credits: Scott Olson/Getty Images
According to DHS, ICE focuses on removing individuals it describes as “the worst of the worst.”
However, government data released in September showed that more than 16,000 people in ICE detention had no criminal record.
Roan’s remarks came during a politically charged week for the department. Just days earlier, Saturday Night Live aired a sketch mocking DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. It started with a spoof of Pam Bondi’s Senate hearing, with Tina Fey playing Noem.
In one moment, a stand-in senator tells Fey’s Noem that Democrats were more eager than Republicans to end the government shutdown.
Image credits: Will Heath/Getty Images
Fey’s Noem responded, “Ha—that makes me laugh more than the ending to Old Yeller,” referencing her controversial memoir admission that she had shot her puppy, Cricket, after it tried to bite her.
Old Yeller is a 1956 Disney film, featuring a stray dog that dies at the end after contracting rabies.
McLaughlin commented on the sketch, telling Entertainment Weekly, “SNL is absolutely right — the Democrats’ shutdown does need to end!”
The U.S. government has been in a shutdown for 14 days now, owing to Congress' failure to pass funding legislation for the 2026 fiscal year.