‘King Trump’s private army’: Bruce Springsteen releases anti-ICE protest song 'Streets of Minneapolis,' condemns killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti; watch here

Bruce Springsteen, singer-songwriter and guitarist, has released and dedicated a protest song condemning the violence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis. The song criticizes President Donald Trump's ongoing immigration enforcement operations in the city and also memorializes the lives of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti, who were fatally shot by federal agents in January 2026.

The lyrics of “Streets of Minneapolis,” released on Wednesday (January 28, 2026), describe how “a city aflame fought fire and ice ’neath an occupier’s boots,” which Springsteen calls “King Trump’s private army.”

In a statement, Springsteen, who has written politically driven music for decades and has heavily criticized President Trump's policies since he was first elected to office in 2016, said that he wrote and recorded the song over the weekend and released it in response to a second deadly shooting by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.


“It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors, and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good,” he wrote, naming the two victims. Springsteen's slow-burning song builds from just acoustic guitar and voice to a fuller band tune, including a harmonica solo, and ends with chants of “ICE Out!”

"I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday, and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis," The Boss wrote on social media. "It's dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors, and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free."

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The title echoes Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia,” which served as a title song for the Tom Hanks-led 1993 film “Philadelphia.” His song comes on the heels of English singer-songwriter Billy Bragg’s own “City of Heroes,” which the protest singer wrote on Sunday and released the next day. Bragg said in a statement that the song was inspired by Pretti’s killing and centers “the bravery of the people of Minneapolis.”

White House responds

Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, responded, “The Trump Administration is focused on encouraging state and local Democrats to work with federal law enforcement officers on removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens from their communities—not random songs with irrelevant opinions and inaccurate information.”

Springsteen has long been critical of the president, who in turn has called the rock icon “overrated.” They last publicly clashed last year, when Springsteen, on tour in England, told his audience that America “is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration.” Trump responded by calling Springsteen a “dried-out prune of a rocker.”

Who is Bruce Springsteen?

Born September 23, 1949, in Long Branch, New Jersey, USA, Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was inspired to take up music when he, at the age of seven, saw Elvis Presley on Toast of the Town (1948).

According to IMDb, his father, Douglas Frederick Springsteen, worked as a bus driver and was of Irish and Dutch ancestry. His mother, Adele Ann (Zerilli), worked as a legal secretary and was of Italian descent.

He has an older sister, Virginia, and a younger sister, Pamela Springsteen. Bruce was raised as a Catholic. He bought his first guitar for 18 dollars at the age of thirteen. His mother took out a loan when Bruce was 16 and bought him a Kent guitar for 60 dollars.

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