It's not just big names like Bad Bunny and Bruce Springsteen speaking out against ICE.
Local musicians in Minnesota and beyond are also speaking out and writing songs.
They're adding to the canon of artists of using music as protest. In the U.S. it's a rich tradition that spans generations, causes and political boundaries.
Meet three musicians from North Texas who are adding their voices to the mix.
Emily Elbert
Emily Elbert didn鈥檛 plan on writing about ICE or . He鈥檚 the five-year-old boy whose photo went viral when he and his father were detained by ICE and sent to a detention facility.
The Coppell High School was trying to finish other songs but struggled to focus.
鈥淚 just couldn't stop thinking about it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just kept seeing his face in my mind, and I just couldn't shake it.鈥�
Writing music is her way of bearing witness, and acknowledging the grief and fear coursing through her community.
鈥淢y way of responding to my feelings is through music. In my mind, that visual was so unshakable that that's why I opened the song by describing what I saw.鈥�
She shared the song because she hoped it might help others slow their scrolling and take time to process this moment.
鈥淲hen I am on social media, I feel so overwhelmed, and it's really easy to feel powerless," she said. "It is by nature a dissociative medium, so I think there's this power in hearing a thoughtful song.鈥�
Many of the musicians that inspire Elbert also wrote songs in response to the politics of their times, like Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix and The Staple Singers.
鈥淸Music] helps us understand ourselves, our feelings, our experiences. It brings people together. It galvanizes us into action,鈥� Elbert said. 鈥淚t helps me understand who I am and how I feel and my own positionality in the world. It feels very connected.鈥�
Alex O鈥檃iza
Alex O鈥檃iza lives in Dallas. He is a first-generation U.S. citizen with family roots in Mexico.
鈥淎t an early age, I realized how political my life, my existence is,鈥� he said.
鈥淚've lived through family members being deported. I've lived through seeing how brutal the system can be. It feels personal.鈥�
After reading the news about the killing of and seeing anonymous commenters supporting the federal agents鈥� actions, O鈥檃iza had trouble sleeping.
He grabbed his guitar and started playing. Within 30 minutes or so, he had a song. The video he posted to Instagram drew support and criticism.
Editor's note: This video contains language that some may find objectionable.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of hard when you see the little messages ding up and people are calling you all sorts of stuff. 鈥� telling me that I don't deserve to live,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t gets tough, but I'm asking for it too. I'm building a platform, and it is what it is. That's just what it comes with.鈥�
When Springsteen released his new song 鈥淪treets of Minneapolis鈥� it made O鈥檃iza feel like public opinion was moving 鈥渋n the right direction.鈥�
鈥淭his is giving a voice to the tenseness of the moment and the hurt and the pain and the anger that people are feeling,鈥� O鈥檃iza said. 鈥淸Music] is a vehicle for people to not only be seen to feel understood, but to also give them a voice.鈥�
TRVR?
TRVR? is a musician based in Fort Worth. He was advised to steer clear of politics to prevent alienating potential fans.
"But the troubles of the world, they deeply impact me. I can't just turn it off and go about my day and have apathy,鈥� he said.
Some of his lyrics point to a specific grievance: 鈥淒o you feel safe? Do you feel alive? When you鈥檙e brutalizing parents right in front of their kids鈥� eyes?鈥�
Other lyrics leave more room for interpretation: 鈥淗ell is getting empty because the demons are all here.鈥�
TRVR? said the response to his music has mostly been positive - including when he鈥檚 played in the Fort Worth Stockyards or other venues where some might expect patrons to lean conservative.
鈥淭here's people in their cowboy boots telling me that they love my political music. It's really cool to see how unifying that is to me,鈥� he said.
Ahead of a trip to Dollywood with his mom, TRVR? listened to old folk music from and and was struck by the relevance of their music today - decades after it was written.
鈥淓verybody has the same problems, and I think most people think that way,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 really hope that music can be the combining force to make people realize they're really not that different.鈥�
Got a tip? Email Marcheta Fornoff at mfornoff@kera.org.
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