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Bruce Springsteen’s new protest song criticizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has surged to the top of U.S. music sales charts.
“Streets of Minneapolis” was the highest-selling digital song in the country last week, according to Billboard, selling about 16,000 downloads. The track reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart despite being available for only two days during the tracking period.
Springsteen said he wrote the song in response to what he called “state terror” in Minneapolis, following two fatal shootings involving federal immigration authorities. In January, Renee Good, 37, was shot and killed by a federal immigration officer during a Department of Homeland Security crackdown. Weeks later, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, was killed by a Customs and Border Protection agent.
The 76-year-old artist dedicated the song to Minneapolis residents, immigrant communities, and the families of Pretti and Good. Known as a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, Springsteen directly targets Trump and the Department of Homeland Security in the lyrics.
Homeland Security officials pushed back, with an agency spokesperson defending ICE agents and criticizing Springsteen for focusing on their actions rather than crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
Despite the backlash, the song’s rapid climb to No. 1 underscores strong public interest — and controversy — surrounding Springsteen’s latest political statement.
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