Bruce Springsteen dedicates his new song to the people of Minneapolis. In it, he criticizes the operation to combat illegal immigration launched in the city by US President Donald Trump, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
The lyrics of Streets of Minneapolis, which was released yesterday, sing about "a city in flames, fighting fire and ice under the boot of an occupier", which Springsteen calls "King Trump's private army".
The musician said that he wrote and recorded the song late last week and released it in response to the second killing of a protester in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents.
"It is dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, to our innocent immigrant neighbors, and in memory of Alex Pretty and Renee Goode," he wrote, mentioning the names of the two victims.
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said: "The Trump administration is focused on persuading state and local Democrats to work with federal law enforcement to remove criminals and illegal aliens from their communities - not on random songs expressing unimportant opinions and spreading inaccurate information.".
Springsteen's ballad, built on an acoustic guitar and vocal melody and featuring a harmonica solo, ends with chants of "ICE Out!".
"Oh, Minneapolis, I hear your voice," sings The Boss, as Springsteen is known. "Singing through the bloody fog / We will stand in defense of this land / And the stranger (foreigner) among us."
The title is an echo of Streets of Philadelphia, the title song of the 1993 film "Philadelphia" starring Tom Hanks.
The release of Springsteen's song comes just after English singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, known for his protest music, wrote and released City of Heroes on Sunday and the next day. Bragg has publicly stated that the song was inspired by Pretty's murder and is based on "the courage of the people of Minneapolis."
Springsteen has long criticized the president, who has called the rock icon an "overrated" artist.
The last time they clashed was last year, when the musician told an audience during a tour in England that America had "fallen into the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous government." Trump responded by calling Springsteen a "falling rocker."
Meanwhile, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said federal immigration agents should no longer wear masks and that they should also comply with other restrictions, such as wearing body cameras. The request was made as part of conditions he set for Trump to extend the deadline for continuing funding for the federal government, which expires on Saturday, Reuters reported.
Schumer added that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, which are part of the US Department of Homeland Security, must be subject to the same rules on the use of force that local police are subject to; ICE, he said, should also be subject to stricter rules, with agents of the Bureau only being able to conduct searches of addresses with a court order.
Democrats have said they will not agree to continue funding the Department of Homeland Security unless the Trump administration curbs its crackdown on immigration.
The department has come under fire over the death of Pretty on Saturday, the second American citizen killed in Minneapolis amid tensions between local community representatives and immigration authorities.