"Saturday Night Live" (SNL) devoted a segment of the "Weekend Update" to jokes about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), following another fatal shooting in Minneapolis this weekend, after cutting a segment about ICE during last week's episode.
"Weekend Update" co-anchor Michael Che made the remarks during the show on Saturday.
"Vice President JD Vance criticized protesters confronting ICE officers, saying they should instead write an op-ed or argue about it on social media. You know, just like these young scholars did on January 6th," Che said, pointing to a photo of Jan. 6 rioters entering the Capitol building.
"I get that ICE agents are people, allegedly. And they have a job to do. But at some point, while you’re pepper spraying old ladies or shooting at a nurse, do you ever stop and ask yourself, ‘Are we d----?’" he continued.
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SNL cut a politically charged sketch at the last minute last week featuring cast member Tommy Brennan, who defended his home state and mocked ICE.
"New cast member Tommy Brennan, who grew up in St. Paul, had prepared a personal monologue for the Jan. 17 episode, which marked the show’s return from the holiday break," the Minnesota Star Tribune reported on Wednesday. "But the nearly four-minute piece was cut between dress rehearsal and the live broadcast. That’s not unusual; producer and show creator Lorne Michaels often eliminates sketches at the last minute because of time."
The monologue was later posted on "Saturday Night Live’s" official YouTube channel. The show frequently shares sketches that didn’t make it to air but were still performed before a live audience.
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Brennan expressed frustration over ICE raids in his home state but played a clip showing an ICE agent slipping on ice — a moment that drew loud laughter from the audience. Brennan said the incident gave him a "glimmer of hope."
"Did you hear the absolutely ecstatic reaction from the people around him? Minnesotans are famously nice — do you know how hard it is to get us to bully you?" he asked. "Here they are, squealing with joy. They sound like when kids meet Mickey Mouse. It’s just, ‘Oh my God! Yeah!’"
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After replaying the clip several times as the audience laughed, Brennan added sarcastically, "Just to be clear, I’m not reveling in another person’s pain. If I wanted to do that, I would join ICE."
He then shifted to a more serious tone, saying, "Minneapolis is a city of immigrants, and that’s what makes it great. I grew up playing on all-immigrant soccer teams, and let me tell you, it is not easy to catch those guys."
Fox News' Alexander Hall contributed to this report.
