Hindustan Times reported Sierra Ferrell is weighing legal action over ICE’s reported use of her song in a recruitment video, as critics objected to the clip’s nostalgic portrayal of mid-century America.
Mediaite said the video appeared in an ICE post on X dated Nov. 12. Its description listed 1930s cars and scenes presented as 1950s life, including a mother with a stroller, highways, Mount Rushmore and a Coca-Cola sign. The people shown were white, the outlet reported. It said the clip ended with the line, “The way it was. The way it can be again. Join ICE.” The agency’s post was inaccessible during verification, so these details rely on Mediaite’s account.
According to Hindustan Times, Ferrell said ICE had used “American Dreaming” without permission and called the video racist. The outlet quoted her saying, “I do not stand for this,” and, “we are called to love and support our immigrant neighbors.” It also reported that steps had been taken to seek removal of the ads, but did not confirm they were removed. Ferrell’s original statement was not independently verified.
Mediaite said critics connected the 1950s theme to the history of Jim Crow. The National Park Service places the enforcement of Jim Crow laws in most states over a period spanning the 1880s to the 1960s.
Shore Fire Media, Ferrell’s label press representative, identifies “American Dreaming” as the opening track on Trail of Flowers, released March 22, 2024. It describes the song as addressing people’s efforts to build a good life in a society shaped by capitalism.
