- Cardi B vows to protect her Latino fans from ICE at her concert
- DHS criticizes Cardi for past behavior, but she shifts focus to Epstein case
- Data shows many ICE arrests target those without criminal records
Cardi B is not playing when it comes to online beef, but we already knew that!
During the opening night of her Little Miss Drama tour, Cardi gave multiple shoutouts to her Latin heritage, which comes on the heels of her appearance during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show.
As she stood in front of the audience in Palm Desert, Calif., the rapper addressed her fans in a now-viral moment, assuring the folks in her audience that she wants them all to be safe. As she performed in a sequined orange outfit, she told the crowd, “If ICE come in here, we’re gonna jump they asses… I got some bear mace in the back. They ain’t taking my fans, bitch. Let’s go!” before going into her hit song, “I Like It.”
While fans praised Cardi for standing up for them–a stark contrast from her longtime nemesis, Nicki Minaj, and her recent antics–The remarks drew some negative attention from the United States Department of Homeland Security. They reposted a tweet from TMZ reporting on the moment and responded.by bringing up up the star’s past.
“As long as she doesn’t drug and rob our agents, we’ll consider that an improvement over her past behavior,” DHS wrote in its response, referencing Cardi’s previous admission that she drugged and robbed men before she became famous.
In true Cardi B fashion, the Grammy winner didn’t hold back in her response.
“If we talking about drugs let’s talk about Epstein and friends drugging underage girls to rape them. Why yall don’t wanna talk about the Epstein files?” she wrote on X, pointing out the controversy surrounding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the continued public scrutiny over newly released documents.
Per People, The University of California, Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project recently obtained data on nearly 220,000 people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement between the day Trump took office for his second term and Oct. 15, 2025.
That data, which was compiled by an internal ICE office and made public in a lawsuit filed against the agency, showed that almost one-third of those arrested in that timeframe had no criminal record. As for those who had been convicted in the past, the data doesn’t distinguish between minor offenses and violent crimes.
With those stats in mind, it’s not hard to believe ICE agents could randomly detain people at Cardi B–or any Latino artist’s–show, simply for existing.
