Immigration has always been a hot-button issue in America. But with increased activity from the Trump administration’s US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as large-scale protest efforts, heightened by the recent deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, the complex topic has become uncomfortable to even bring up.
Which brings up the most important debate of all: Can comedians really weigh in on this? And is it funny? Let’s find out.
A major theme of the comedy on this issue is late-night comedians getting very serious in their criticisms of ICE. Stephen Colbert is no exception. Although he does sneak in a little prop comedy about Kristi Noem’s cowboy hat.
“THE DAILY SHOW” – RONNY CHIENG ON ICE
“Daily Show” correspondent Ronny Chieng has more applause line takes against ICE, but thankfully, with a bit more actual jokes and standup energy thrown in the mix. This one’s actually pretty funny, also more clips of Trump and the news coverage.
LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS GETS ICE-Y
I might as well throw Seth Meyers in here, as it reminded me a lot of the “Daily Show.” Lots of news clips, some throwaway jokes. It’s a bit longer with more analysis, so if you want to feel like you learned something while digesting your comedy clips, this may be for you.
GUTFELD! HAS OPINIONS! ABOUT ICE!
Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld has a similar semi-serious tone to the rest of the late-night hosts, except he’s the only one who took the side of the government and not the protestors. He makes fairly reasonable points, as he criticizes the nurse who went on social media advocating for nurses to inject ICE agents with poison, and showed footage of Alex Pretti being violent against ICE agents a week before he was killed. And you get some jokes, and a panel segment. If you want some former MTV VJ Kennedy with your political comedy, Fox News has got you covered.
Babylon Bee with a couple of heady satire pieces on the ICE topic. Here’s their take on how close-minded liberal criticism of their policies is. Whether you agree with it or not, it’s certainly got a clear and well-written visual punchline. And you can read this article in like 5 seconds, that is efficiency.
Babylon Bee with more clever satire here, as ICE’s tactics are so severe that some illegal immigrants don’t want to come to America. It’s like ICE, in a way, is doing its job. Don’t know how realistic that connection is, but very clever writing. Bravo.
The Onion captures the mood that ICE is invading people’s lives by having ICE claim that going in your own house is an act of resistance. A very effective symbol for 1984-like oppression.
SNL GOES “BEYOND THE HEADLINES”
(May require an NBC Universal log-in/proof of cable subscription for now)
SNL took a unique approach to the ICE issues with some welcome historical context. In this easy-to-understand sketch, Kenan Thompson and episode host Teyana Taylor react when their co-hosts claim these are “unprecedented times,” pointing out that bad things have been happening for a long time. A basic point, but a correct one that hopefully helps people get through these times we’re in. We’ve gotten through bad times before, and will do so again.
