Bruce Springsteen harshly criticized US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, during his performance at the Light of Day festival in New Jersey.
His appearance at the charity music festival supporting Parkinson’s disease research came as a surprise because it had not been announced.
The musician dedicated his 75-minute set to Rene Goode, who was recently shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, before adding how polarization is testing the country’s values, which, he says, have remained at its core over the past 250 years.
Indicating its path Promised Land, “His next song is probably one of my greatest songs,” he shares, “and he says he wrote it as an ode to American potential…to the beautiful but flawed country we are, and the country we can be.”
“Now, we are living in incredibly critical times. The United States, and the ideals and values it has stood for over the past 250 years, are being tested like never before in modern times. And never have those values and ideals been more at risk than they are now.”
Bruce adds that a message must be sent to the president that protest is a right and no one should be killed for it.
“If you believe in democracy, in freedom… If you believe that the truth still matters, that it is worth speaking out, that it is worth fighting for… If you believe in the power of the law and that no one stands above it.”
“If you stand against masked, heavily armed federal forces invading American cities, using Gestapo tactics against our citizens… If you believe you do not deserve to be killed for exercising your American right to protest… send a letter to this president.”
Bruce concludes his letter by calling for the removal of ICE from Minneapolis. “As the mayor of that city said, ICE needs to get out of Minneapolis. So, this photo is for you, and in memory of mother of three and American citizen Renee Judd.”