When your name is Ice and the other ICE is breaking down doors without warrants, you’re bound to catch some undeserved heat in the crossfire.
Ice-T found himself addressing the controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s new policies that allow agents to forcibly enter homes without judicial warrants. The Hip-Hop legend and Law & Order: SVU star didn’t hold back his thoughts on what he sees as illegal government overreach.
Like Drake facing scrutiny over his upcoming ICEman album title, Ice-T is taking heat simply because of his stage name. The rapper made it clear he stands on the right side of proper law enforcement while questioning ICE’s expanded powers during a sitdown on Allison Interviews.
“I’m on the right side of proper law enforcement, but what we’re seeing now in America with ICE, what is law enforcement?” Ice-T told Allison Kugel. “What is it, and who draws what line and where? They don’t need warrants.”
The controversy stems from a recent ICE memo obtained by the Associated Press that authorizes agents to enter homes without consent to make immigration arrests.
Federal courts have been split on the issue, with some ruling that ICE violated Fourth Amendment protections by forcibly entering homes without judicial warrants. Ice-T posed a provocative question about the balance between constitutional rights and federal authority.
“So if ICE decides they want to come in my house without a warrant, does the Second Amendment permit me to shoot them?” he asked. “If they’re out there behaving illegally, what makes them legal, cause they got a badge?”
Ice-T connected the current ICE controversy to his most famous protest song from 1992.
In a powerful protest, Ice-T and his metal band Body Count recently transformed their controversial track “Cop Killer” into “ICE Killer” during live performances.
The updated version targets immigration enforcement agents rather than police officers, reflecting current political tensions.
The song modification came as ICE raids intensified across the country under new federal policies. Body Count performed the altered lyrics at recent shows, changing the target from cops to ICE agents in response to what Ice-T sees as government overreach.
“As far as doing Cop Killer, Cop Killer was a protest record about brutal cops,” he explained. “The fact that he became a hero to some, that lets you know how some people feel about the police.”
Beyond his music and activism, Ice-T holds the record as the longest-running male actor in television history. He’s portrayed Detective Sergeant Odafin “Fin” Tutuola on Law & Order: SVU since 2000, appearing in over 400 episodes across 25 seasons.
The milestone achievement spans more than two decades of consistent television work.
Ice-T joined the NBC police drama in its second season and has remained a core cast member through multiple cast changes and storyline evolutions.
“Somebody said Homer Simpson, and I’m like, ‘He ain’t real. Homer doesn’t have to get up in the morning and do a call time (laughs). After Season 21 we beat Gun Smoke; that was James Arness.”
Ice-T, along with co-founder Courtney “Big Court” Richardson II launched The O.G. Network, a FAST Channel Streaming Network available through Roku, Apple, Google Play and Fire TV.
The free streamer focuses on urban storytelling. Learn more at www.theognetwork.net.
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