Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem offered a sharp rebuttal to musicians Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish, along with other celebrities who criticized DHS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), at last weekend’s Grammy Awards.
Speaking with Fox News on Monday, Noem bemoaned the fact that the celebrities in question do not know what “wonderful, amazing people” ICE officers are. She added that a significant number of the federal officials participating in ICE operations live in those communities.
“Their families live there and that’s their neighbors they are protecting by getting dangerous criminals off the streets,” Noem explained. “They are going after those murderers and rapists, people that are trafficking drugs, and protecting America.”
Eilish, who won Song of the Year for “Wildflower” on Sunday night, said “[expletive] ICE” in her acceptance speech. She also said, “No one is illegal on stolen land.” However, the Tongva tribe has said that Eilish’s $3 million Los Angeles mansion sits on its “ancestral land” and that the tribe has not communicated with Eilish.
“ICE out. We’re not savage, we’re not animals… We are humans and we are Americans.”
— Bad Bunny while accepting his #GRAMMY for ‘Best Música Urbana Album’ pic.twitter.com/WacIgjs7pk
— Kurrco (@Kurrco) February 2, 2026
Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican superstar who will perform at the Super Bowl on Feb. 8, referenced the “ICE OUT” movement during his speech. Eilish also wore an “ICE OUT” pin.
“We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens — we are humans, and we are Americans,” the 31-year-old said.
Their comments, along with those of celebrities who have previously criticized DHS, come amid nationwide anti-ICE protests, including in Minnesota and California. ICE began Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota in December and has since apprehended over 10,000 criminal illegal aliens.
It is unclear whether Bad Bunny will reference the Trump administration or the anti-ICE movement during his Super Bowl halftime show. He previously said he would not tour in the United States out of fear that ICE and DHS could target Hispanic attendees.
Trump has already said that he will not attend the Super Bowl, citing travel reasons.
Thao Pao Xiong, a criminal illegal alien from Laos convicted of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, theft, auto theft, possession of drugs, terroristic threats, possession of burglary tools, burglary, domestic abuse, identity theft, possession of a short-barreled… pic.twitter.com/YVhvAGdAb8
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) January 31, 2026
Noem regularly features illegal criminal aliens whom she calls the “worst of the worst” on her X feed. Those individuals are typically illegal aliens who have previously been arrested, charged, and convicted of serious offenses ranging from assault and battery to crimes against women and children.
Noem spotlighted five such individuals in an X thread on Saturday, Jan. 31, including a criminal alien from Laos with an extensive rap sheet that includes burglary, domestic abuse, and making terroristic threats. Another man is a criminal illegal alien from Mexico who had been arrested for a crime against a child under the age of 14 and conspiracy to transport aliens within the U.S.
“We have reached historic lows in crime rates in this country, the lowest rate of murder and crime since we have been recording it for over 100 years,” Noem said. “So it’s real results, people are feeling it in their communities, and it’s too bad that ill-informed famous musicians make statements like that without truly knowing what great Americans our ICE and Border Patrol officers are.”
Noem announced on Monday that DHS agents in Minnesota will begin wearing body cameras immediately. She also confirmed that DHS intends to expand that effort nationwide as soon as possible.
