Natalie Portman Tears Up As She Demands For 'Obsence' ICE Raids To 'End': 'It's Just Too Much'

By Favour Adegoke on January 27, 2026 at 5:30 PM EST

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Natalie Portman has joined a growing list of celebrities speaking out against recent ICE enforcement actions.

At the Sundance Film Festival, the actress called the federal operation "obscene" and "outrageous," and urged that such tactics be stopped.

Besides Natalie Portman, other public figures, including Olivia Wilde, Mandy Moore, and Ariana Grande, have also recently expressed anger over the ICE actions, particularly after a Minneapolis raid resulted in the fatal shooting of 37-year-old nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti.

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Tearful Natalie Portman Calls The ICE Shootings 'Obscene'

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An emotional Natalie Portman let it rip at ICE over their raids, which recently resulted in the death of 37-year-old nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti in Minneapolis.

Speaking on the red carpet during her appearance at the Sundance Film Festival, the actress slammed the organization as well as President Donald Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

"It's such a horrible day; it's been a horrible week. What is happening in our country is just obscene," Portman said amid tears.

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"What Trump and Kristi Noem and ICE are doing to our citizens and undocumented people is outrageous and needs to end," she added.

She went on to express her happiness over people coming together to protest against the ICE raids.

"I'm very moved by all the people coming out and supporting each other in community and showing the best of America. It's just too much, it needs to end."

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Natalie Portman Says The Country Is In A 'Horrific Moment'

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Portman was at the Sundance Film Festival to promote the premiere of her movie The Gallerist.

While she did spend some time talking about the project, her concern over the ICE raids weighed heavily on her, and she continued to speak out about the issue in another interview at the event.

She said it was impossible to ignore all of the happenings, which seemed to emphasize why she was joining her voice to those who have protested against the ICE raids.

"Of course, we're at an unfortunately horrific moment in our country with the federal government attacking civilians in our own cities," said the actress who wore an ICE OUT pin.

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"I'm so lucky to be here in a joyful, creative community celebrating a movie we're really proud of, but it's impossible to ignore what ICE is doing to our country," Portman further remarked.

She also noted, "'I'm very inspired by all the amazing Americans who are coming out and supporting each other and being there in communities, it's beautiful."

Actress Olivia Wilde Says What ICE Is Doing Is 'Hideous'

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Portman's indignation at ICE raids was matched by that of Olivia Wilde, who was also at the film festival.

She stated that she was "appalled and sickened" by it all, and called on citizens not to accept the situation as "our new norm."

"People are being murdered, and I don't want to normalize seeing that violence - on the internet or on film. It's hideous," Wilde shared.

Already, stars like Mandy Moore and Ariana Grande have previously lent their voice to the criticism of the governmental organization.

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Other Stars Have Criticized The ICE Raids

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On Moore's part, she took to her Instagram stories and reposted a New York Times article that read "Federal Agents Shoot And Kill A Person In Minneapolis, Officials Say."

She also included a candid caption in the post, where she described the Pretti's incident as "terrifying territory."

Meanwhile, Grande reposted a tweet from Zohran Kwame Mamdani, the mayor of New York City.

The post read, "ICE terrorizes our cities. ICE puts us all in danger. Abolish ICE."

ICE Victim's Family Denied He Was Holding A Weapon

Since Pretti's murder, blame has been unfairly pointed at the deceased by several for being the cause of his death.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated at a press conference that Pretti had "reacted violently" during the incident with ICE, and had also "impeded their law enforcement operations."

A similar statement was also released by the Border Patrol Union, in which they appeared to claim that Pretti was armed and brandished his weapon.

However, the late victim's family has denied the narrative in a statement obtained by the Daily Mail.

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"The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting," they said. "Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump's murdering and cowardly ICE thugs…..Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man."

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