Homeland Security Security Kristi Noem called a song Zach Bryan teased last week “disrespectful” to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
“I hope he understands how completely disrespectful that song is, not just to law enforcement but to this country, to every single individual that has ever stood up and fought for our freedoms. He just compromised it all by putting out a product such as that,” Noem told conservative commentator Benny Johnson on Tuesday evening.
Noem added that she is “very happy” she does not listen to Bryan’s music. As of Tuesday, Bryan’s songs have been streamed more than 16 billion times on Spotify.
The country music star posted a portion of the song, titled “Bad News,” to Instagram on Friday.
In the clip, Bryan sings “And ICE is gonna come bust down your house, try to build a house no one builds no more, but I got a telephone, kids are all scared and all alone.”
“The bars start bumping, the rocks start rolling, the middle finger’s rising and it won’t stop showing, got some bad news. The fadin’ of the red, white and blue,” Bryan continued.
The lyrics received criticism and support online. Bryan, who served in the Navy from 2013 to 2021, said on his Instagram story Tuesday the song “is about how much I love this country and everyone in it more than anything,” and that the song “hits on both sides of the aisle.”
“Everyone using this now as a weapon is only proving how devastatingly divided we all are. We need to find our way back,” Bryan added.
According to ICE data, the agency has arrested 527,429 people this year. Immigrant communities across the country, from Los Angeles to Chicago to the nation’s capital, have been impacted by ICE’s increased operations under the Trump administration.
