Brief
White House pulls Kacey Musgraves’ “Mexico Honey” from ICE propaganda video
The clip, which showed ICE agents handcuffing and deporting undocumented people, now shows a “sound isn’t available” notice.
By Felo News Desk · Published
The White House removed Kacey Musgraves’ 2026 single “Mexico Honey” from a video highlighting ICE deportations, Billboard reported on Oct. 16, 2026. The clip, posted by the Trump administration on Oct. 14, displayed footage of men being handcuffed, detained and forced onto planes, with an on‑screen caption reading “Criminal illegals are going back home.”
Within the video, the song’s lyrics – a breezy love tune from Musgraves’ Middle of Nowhere album – were originally audible. After two days, the audio track was muted and the video now displays a caption stating “this sound isn’t available.” Billboard noted that the caption also includes a nod to the song’s lyric “Goin back smooth” and a waving hand emoji.
Billboard could not obtain comment from Musgraves’ spokesperson or from ICE at the time of publication. The outlet highlighted that “Mexico Honey” became Musgraves’ first solo top‑40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 2026, peaking at No. 39, and that its video was filmed in Mexico.
Musgraves previously criticized the administration’s immigration policies, posting on X in June 2025 that “If protesters can’t wear masks ICE shouldn’t be able to either.” Earlier this year, she collaborated with the Mariachi Brothers, three musicians who had been detained by ICE earlier in the year.
The removal of the song follows a pattern of the Trump White House repurposing popular music for policy messaging, a practice previously reported by Felo News in its coverage of Zara Larsson’s “Midnight Sun” being used in an ICE TikTok clip.
Key facts
- The White House muted Kacey Musgraves’ song “Mexico Honey” in an ICE video on Oct. 14, 2026. (billboard.com)
- The video now shows a “this sound isn’t available” notice with a caption referencing the song’s lyric. (billboard.com)
- “Mexico Honey” peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 2026. (billboard.com)
- Billboard was unable to get comment from Musgraves’ spokesperson or ICE. (billboard.com)
- Musgraves previously criticized ICE policies on X in June 2025. (billboard.com)
Sources
- [1] billboard.com — originally reported as “White House ICE Deportation Video Using Kacey Musgraves’ ‘Mexico Honey’ Goes Silent”
