In a somber “Weekend Update” segment, Saturday Night Live addressed the controversy surrounding ICE, airing just hours after tragic incident in Minneapolis where a 37-year-old I.C.U nurse was killed by Border Patrol agents. The show opted for a more restrained, “light” approach to the topic, navigating the immediate tension of the breaking news story while still critiquing the agency’s current enforcement actions, according to Variety. See the full segment below.
“Vice President J.D. Vance criticized protesters confronting ICE Officers, saying they should instead write an op-ed or argue about it on social media. You know, just like these young scholars did on January 6th,” Michael Che said during the January 24 episode, motioning to a photo of the attack at the Capitol in 2021.
He continued, “I get that ICE agents are people, allegedly, and they have a job to do. But at some point while you’re pepper-spraying old ladies or shooting at a nurse, do you ever stop to ask yourself, ‘Are we dicks?’”
The Saturday Night Live cold open took direct swing at the Trump administration through an awards-show parody, via Variety. The sketch featured the return of Mike Myers (Austin Powers: Goldmember, The Cat in the Hat) as Elon Musk, who quipped about the recent surge in federal enforcement, saying, “After what all my little freaks and psychos in ICE have been doing, I need more distractions.”
As SNL highlighted the ICE’s actions from New York, celebrities across the country in Salt Lake City led protests against the violence in Minnesota at the Sundance Film Festival. Many sported similar “Be Good” and “ICE Out” pins that were visible at the Golden Globes earlier this month. Both messages were part of an ACLU-sponsored campaign in honor of Minnesotan Renée Good, who was killed by ICE agents on January 7.