"ICE out" pins and criticism of US immigration enforcement featured in several of the biggest acceptance speeches at the 2026 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, with winners using the ceremony to call for immigrant rights and to condemn federal raids.
Billie Eilish raised the issue while accepting Song of the Year for Wildflower, appearing on stage with her brother Finneas as both wore "ICE out" pins.
"No one is illegal on stolen land," she told the audience, before adding that it was "really hard to know what to say and what to do right now", and urging people to "keep fighting and speaking up and protesting".
Olivia Dean, who won Best New Artist, also referenced immigration in her speech. "I'm up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant," she said, adding: "I’m a product of bravery," and saying immigrants "deserve to be celebrated".
Bad Bunny delivered one of the night’s most direct comments when he accepted Best Música Urbana Album for Debí Tirar Más Fotos. "Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say 'ICE out’," he said, before adding: "We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens; we are humans and we are Americans."
He told the audience that hate feeds on hate, and that love is "more powerful" than hate.
Later, after taking Album of the Year, Bad Bunny paid tribute to Puerto Rico and dedicated the award to "all the people who had to leave their homeland, their country to follow their dreams".
Accepting Record of the Year alongside Kendrick Lamar for luther, SZA urged viewers not to lose hope, saying: "Please don’t fall into despair… I know the algorithms tell us that it’s so scary and all is lost… we can go on, we need each other."
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Outside the winners’ podium, the protest theme carried onto the red carpet, where musicians and songwriters spoke about immigration enforcement and wore pins calling for ICE to be removed from US cities.
Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon said he wore a whistle in tribute to legal observers documenting federal agents’ actions. "I think there’s a reason that music exists and it’s to heal and to bring people together," he said. "But the real work are those observers on the ground in Minneapolis."
The speeches and symbols came amid protests in Minneapolis following fatal shootings involving federal immigration agents in January.
You watch highlights of the 68th Grammy Awards on RTÉ2 at 9pm tonight.
Source: Reuters, Press Association
