Hollywood Is on the Wrong Side of History on ICE

This article was co-authored by Savannah Chrisley 

Hollywood loves to cast itself as the conscience of America. From award-show stages to social media feeds, celebrities lecture the country on what justice looks like and who the villains are supposed to be. But when it comes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, Hollywood has it wrong; and history will not be kind to that mistake.

At the 2026 Grammy Awards, Billie Eilish used her moment on stage to condemn immigration enforcement, portraying ICE as cruel and unnecessary. The applause was immediate. The headlines were glowing. But once again, something essential was missing from the narrative: the victims of violence at the hands of illegal aliens. We know this culture from the inside.

One of us spent years in high fashion - in rooms where dissent from the approved narrative quietly ends careers. The other grew up on reality television, where Hollywood makes very clear which views are “acceptable” and which are not. We’ve both seen how applause replaces accountability and how truth is often the first casualty.

For Savannah, this issue stopped being theoretical the day she sat beside the family of Laken Riley at an event.

Sitting next to a family whose child was taken from them so violently by an illegal alien is something that changes you forever. It strips away slogans, hashtags, and celebrity talking points and replaces them with something far more real: grief, loss, and consequences that can never be undone. There was no political framing in that moment – only a family living with the permanent cost of failed policies.

That experience made Hollywood’s anti-ICE campaigns feel not only misguided but deeply offensive. From behind security details, gated communities, and private planes, it’s easy to demonize law enforcement. But families like Laken’s who bury their children, live with the outcomes of weak enforcement and reckless rhetoric every single day.

ICE exists for a reason: public safety, border security, and the protection of American families. As Chad Wolf, Chair of Homeland Security & Immigration at the America First Policy Institute(AFPI), has said, “Weakening ICE does not make communities safer. It leaves violent offenders in place and guarantees future victims will pay the price.”

Last year, AFPI released a report, Data Shows Gang and Cartel Violence Warrants a Federal Crackdown, and the facts should stop every honest conversation cold.

Our Republic is still recovering from the open border crisis that was encouraged under the last administration. Gang activity has risen sharply since 2021. Fentanyl seizures increased by more than 460 percent between 2020 and 2023. Over 400,000 Americans have died from overdoses tied largely to cartel-smuggled synthetic opioids.

These statistics represent Americans like Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungary, Kayla Hamilton, Rachel Morin, and countless others whose names you won’t hear from most Hollywood elites.

While cities like Washington, D.C. and Memphis have experienced huge improvements because of the Trump administration’s enforcement efforts, many other cities around our Nation continue to experience violence at the hands of illegal aliens.

Yet, Hollywood rarely mentions the gangs targeted by ICE: transnational criminal organizations like Tren de Aragua and the Latin Kings. It seldom acknowledges that many individuals arrested by ICE have prior convictions for assault, robbery, rape, or murder, and it rarely speaks the names of the victims left behind.

That silence is willful ignorance. Women are tired of being lied to. We want transparency about crime. We want trust restored in institutions that exist to protect us. We want health and safety for our families. We also want to be clear about something else: faith matters in this conversation.

As Christians, we believe compassion must always be part of policy discussions. We can support ICE wholeheartedly while also believing that any institution involving human lives should be continually examined and strengthened. Those truths belong together. What Hollywood cannot tolerate, however, is dissent.

Savannah knows this firsthand. She was nearly, if not outright, canceled for her faith and her belief in family and freedom. Hollywood demands ideological compliance. When someone refuses to fall in line, they are silenced rather than engaged. Now is the moment to replace cancellation with conversation and division with unity.

ICE officers are not villains. They are everyday Americans: parents, spouses, and neighbors who wear the badge, knowing they may be targeted by critics far removed from the impact of the policies they promote. History has a way of clarifying these moments. It remembers who defended victims, who upheld truth, and who chose comfort over courage.

On ICE, Hollywood chose wrong. We choose truth.