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As ICE cracks down, some of America’s biggest names are speaking out

The US president is facing a growing cultural revolt that threatens to undermine his signature domestic priority

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ICE agents guard outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo: Reuters
Associated Press

No longer confined to the partisans and activists, the fierce backlash against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has begun to break out across American culture, spanning the worlds of business, sports and entertainment.

Bruce Springsteen released a new song on Wednesday that slammed “Trump’s federal thugs”. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman told employees that “what’s happening with ICE is going too far”, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And lifestyle icon Martha Stewart lamented that “we can be attacked and even killed”.

“Things must and have to change quickly and peacefully,” Stewart wrote to her 2.9 million Instagram followers this week.

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A little more than one year into his second term, Trump is facing a broad cultural revolt that threatens to undermine his signature domestic priority, the Republican Party’s grip on power and his own political strength ahead of the midterm elections.

A man in handcuffs runs from federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. Photo: AP
A man in handcuffs runs from federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. Photo: AP

Trump tried to shift the conversation this week by dispatching border tsar Tom Homan to Minnesota to replace Greg Bovino, a Border Patrol commander who has been a lightning rod.

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