SNL criticized for releasing sketch mocking ICE after it was cut from live broadcast: ‘Cowardly move’

Saturday Night Live has released a sketch mocking Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents that was cut from the January 17 broadcast due to time constraints - drawing criticism from some viewers, who said it was a “cowardly move” not to air the segment.

In the clip, posted online Tuesday, cast member and Minnesota native Tommy Brennan joined SNL’s “Weekend Update” desk to discuss the growing unrest in the state after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, a mom of three, earlier this month amid the Trump administration’s ramped-up immigration raids.

“Look, I know that no one is dying for a hot take on this from a guy who looks like he was home-schooled on a yacht,” Brennan joked in the clip this past weekend. “But, it would be insane to ignore what’s happening in my hometown right now.”

He continued: “I know there’s nothing I can say that will ease the grief and anger and fear that a lot of people are feeling right now. But I wanted to show you one thing from the ICE protests in Minnesota that gave me just a glimmer of hope.”

SNL then repeatedly played a viral clip of an ICE agent slipping and falling on ice while patrolling in Minnesota.

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“And then, he gets up and just jogs back to his car,” Brennan notes. “Just completely gives up on his mission. It honestly kind of looks like that was his mission. Like, his superior officer was like, ‘Hey go do a Scooby-Doo fall on that ice, and then hobble your way back to the car.’”

Brennan then added: “Also, just to be clear, I’m not reveling in another person’s pain. If I wanted to do that, I would join ICE.”

Taking a more serious tone, Brennan then noted that he was “really proud” to be from Minnesota.

“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. So good luck, you know,” Brennan joked.

“I guess I’m just showing this video ‘cause these are the athletes that Minnesotans are dealing with,” he said, as the clip played again.

“We’re not like them. We won’t jog back to the car and we won’t slip up ‘cause in Minnesota we’ve been dealing with ICE our whole lives, b***h,” he concluded before calling out: “Leave Minnesota alone!”

Though Brennan’s bit drew applause and cheers from the live studio audience, it didn’t make the 90 minute broadcast. SNL regularly uploads “cut for time” sketches that they don’t air during the show on YouTube. The Independent has asked SNL for comment on why this segment didn’t make the cut.

The clip, shared across SNL’s social media pages, has garnered nearly 200,000 likes on Instagram and over 307,000 views on YouTube. However, fans were disappointed in the delay, noting the timing felt “cowardly.”

“Feels like a cowardly move to cut this one tbh,” one user wrote on Instagram. Another wrote: “bring this back for this weeks update. Can’t believe this was dropped.”

“For cutting this, we deserve two segments on Minneapolis next week,” another fan wrote on Instagram.

Another user wrote on Instagram, “Not even ice supports ice!”

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Anti-ICE protests have swept across the state of Minnesota since the Department of Homeland Security launched “Operation Metro Surge” last month, making 3,000 arrests in the weeks since, the agency announced Monday.

The aggressive enforcement has sparked protests and backlash from local officials, which only became more intense after ICE officer Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Nicole Good on January 7.

Last Thursday, President Donald Trump escalated things even further, by threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act, an emergency power not used in over three decades, to deploy active-duty troops against citizens protesting his administration. However, he walked back that threat one day later.

Meanwhile, state and local officials are looking to expel federal immigration officers from the North Star State.

After Good’s killing, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey delivered a blunt message to ICE to “get the f*** out.” And last week, Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration over its “unprecedented” surge, alleging it violates the Constitution.

While the White House has since vowed to double its immigration enforcement efforts in the city, on Friday, a federal judge limited the use of force against protesters, blocking agents from “retaliating” against peaceful demonstrators and indiscriminately using riot control weapons on crowds.