by Isabelle Camoin ’26 on February 5, 2026
A&E - Music
Bruce Springsteen has returned and reinserted himself into musical history, and the narrative of
current political conflict in the United States. by releasing “Streets of Minneapolis.” This single
about Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s involvement in Minneapolis, MN, and the local
citizens’ reactions is worth a listen. The song takes a stand on the actions of ICE and joins the
city in protest to get “ICE out now.”
The song demonstrates the power of art’s ability to express situations that words cannot always
describe on their own. The song blatantly calls out President Donald Trump’s administration for
abusing its executive power by calling Trump “King Trump” and ICE agents, “Trump’s private
army from the DHS” and “Trump’s thugs.” The song was released on Wednesday, Jan. 28, and
incorporates ICE’s violent behavior of murdering U.S. citizens into its lyrics and documenting
history in song as these events play out.
“Here in our home they killed and roamed,” are lyrics that shake the soul of any listener who
cares about the life of democracy and freedom in a nation. Springsteen even quotes the
National Anthem when singing, “In the dawn’s early light / citizens stood for justice / their voices
ringing through the night.” In these lines, Springsteen highlights Americans, specifically
members of the community protesting in Minneapolis, who stand for justice by exercising their
First Amendment rights. In the city of Minneapolis, as this newspaper and other news sources
have reported, people have been protesting the increasingly authoritative and arbitrary
measures ICE has taken against those who live and have homes here in the U.S. Not to
mention, this has all taken place in temperatures averaging sub 10 degrees, or as Springsteen
puts it, “through the winter’s ice and cold.”
This is not the first time Springsteen has used his artistic talents to take a political stand. A
classic example of this is his creation and performance of “Born in the U.S.A.,” in which he
critiques the U.S.’s involvement in the Vietnam War from the perspective of a disillusioned
veteran.
Springsteen also performed the song live in Minneapolis, and hours later it hit the top of iTunes
charts. Outside of reaching the top of the charts in a day, Springsteen has over 21 million
monthly listeners on Spotify. His audience is wide and the messages he includes in his lyrics are communicated to millions of listeners. The lyrics, “Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice,”
are all the more powerful because he is allowing listeners to hear Minneapolis’ voice as well
through song.