Cardi B set off a fiery exchange with the Department of Homeland Security online after a political statement at her Little Miss Drama Tour concert was filmed and posted on social media.
During the opening night of her concert in Palm Desert, California, she addressed immigration enforcement harshly, casually mentioning bear mace that she had backstage.
The rapper paused mid-set and scanned the crowd. While standing on an elevated platform, she asked whether any Guatemalans or Mexicans were in attendance. Then she shared her warning to any ICE agents who might try to come for her fans.
Cardi B said, "B*tch, if ICE comes in here, we gon’ jump they a**es.” She continued, "I’ve got some bear mace in the back. They ain’t taking my fans, b*tch."
DHS jumped into the conversation on X
Because fans reposted the video across platforms, conservative critics quickly pounced. Not long after, the Department of Homeland Security's official X account responded directly to the threat via a tweet.
From its official account, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s parent agency referenced the rapper’s past. "As long as she doesn’t drug and rob our agents, we’ll consider that an improvement over her past behavior," the account posted.
That tweet pointed back to a 2019 controversy, when Cardi B discussed crimes she committed before fame. She later pleaded guilty to third-degree assault related to an incident at a strip club.
"Whether or not they were poor choices at the time, I did what I had to do to survive," she wrote at the time in a since-deleted Instagram post. "I never claimed to be perfect or come from a perfect world."
Still, she did not let the jab from DHS slide. Instead, Cardi quote-retweeted the agency's post and shifted the focus.
"If we talking about drugs let’s talk about Epstein and friends drugging underage girls to rape them," she wrote. "Why y'all don’t wanna talk about the Epstein files?"
Social media reactions to the X exchange
The online debate widened as people weighed in. On Reddit, one repost slightly mangled her original quote. Even so, many commenters backed her message. u/lilguyanonymous commented, "This is one of the only celebrities I hope doesn't fall off. She is amazing and truly from nothing. A good heart and soul is evident and always wishing the best for her."
u/SignificanceCold1075 added, "Say what you will about Cardi B, but at least she’s always speaking up and is on the right side of history, unlike the other female rapper."
This comparison referenced Nicki Minaj, who recently began supporting President Donald Trump and attending Turning Point USA events as a guest speaker.
u/CRISSFAMORxo joked, "She really said not on my watch with the hot sauce ready, lol."
"People are defending the degenerates named in the Epstein files in her quotes," @Adesuwa____ pointed out on X. "It’s okay to dislike Cardi B, but defending eating children and raping them just because you don’t like her is a new low."
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