Anti‑ICE Benefit Album ‘Contra‑ICE Vol. 1’ Funds Immigrant Rights Groups

Kathleen Hanna (left) and Adrian Quesada are two artists featured on the benefit compilation

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Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images, Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Spotify

Last year, a well-known street vendor in Los Angeles’ Culver City neighborhood was detained by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Ambrocio “Enrique” Lozano, who had sold ice cream in the area for decades, became a symbol of community targeting when a photo of his abandoned paletero cart went viral on social media. The image inspired artist and activist Dali Colorado—originally from Los Angeles and now based in Oregon—to take action.

“Let’s not let the paletero cart sit forgotten in the street,” Colorado recalled. “Let’s build on it—add speakers, give it a voice, and turn it into the Contra‑ICE sound system.”

After more than 100 days in detention, The Los Angeles Times reported that Lozano was released to his family and granted a green card. Colorado’s collaborative project, however, was just beginning. The resulting benefit album, Contra‑ICE Vol. 1: ICE OUT, is scheduled for release on October 2 through Build Art Make Change, the nonprofit she co‑founded. The record features over 30 contributors, including Kathleen Hanna, Fred Armisen, and Tom Morello, and its cover art reimagines Lozano’s paletero cart as a powerful sound system.

“It has become an iconic symbol of resistance,” Colorado said. “We are anti‑ICE. We have no intention of beating around the bush.”

NPR reached out to ICE for comment on the creation and mission of the compilation album, but did not hear back.

Proceeds from the album, as well as a benefit concert in LA on October 3, will benefit the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) and Unión del Barrio. Colorado selected these groups because they work directly with immigrants facing workplace targeting and family separation.

Almost all of the tracks explore the current political climate, from comedians Al Madrigal and Chris Estrada’s exchange on the experience of seeing Latino ICE officers on the streets, to Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine’s anti‑prison verses. The compilation mixes previously recorded material with new compositions, creating what Colorado describes as a historical and artistic record of this moment.

“Listening to each artist’s contribution required hours of careful attention,” Colorado said. “I wanted listeners to experience the full emotional arc—from anger and fear to sadness—and to hear the powerful narrative that emerges when those feelings are expressed together.”

The album’s flow is anchored by solemn, urgent, and occasionally meditative interludes produced by Jim Filer Coleman—formerly of the noise‑rock band Cop Shoot Cop—who also served as the project’s sound designer. A hopeful moment arrives mid‑record with a rock‑infused cover of DJ Snake and Justin Bieber’s “Let Me Love You,” performed by Kathleen Hanna, Ad‑Rock, Money Mark, Fredo Ortiz, and Frank Figueroa. The tropical‑house original is reimagined as a punchy rock melody, and Hanna’s playful vocals deliver the revised lyrics: “Don’t you give up, nah, nah, nah / I won’t give up, nah, nah, nah / Let me love you.”

“I’ve always felt that the song’s lyrics could speak to political burnout,” Hanna explained. “Re‑imagining a love song as a celebration of community, rather than a heterosexual romance, makes perfect sense to me.”

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For Hanna, the cover reflects an older activist’s retrospection on the idealism of youth and acknowledges that progress is often nonlinear, yet remains worth pursuing. Adrian Quesada, the hip‑hop producer behind the track “33 Degrees”—a reference to the melting point of ice—said he hopes listeners will sit with the underlying unease that permeates much of the project.

“Art made during pivotal moments should confront uncomfortable truths,” Quesada remarked. “We aim to document our era through music that reflects the challenges and hopes we all share.”

For Tijuana‑born singer and activist Ceci Bastida, the album holds a deeply personal resonance. Growing up on the border, she witnessed daily crossings from Mexico into the United States, but recent years have seen increasing militarization and criminalization of those journeys. Since 2019, Bastida has volunteered with the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, supporting unaccompanied minors. Her song “No Tengas Miedo” (“Don’t Be Scared”) draws directly from her experiences with these children.

“Crossing Mexico is one of the most terrifying experiences anyone can face,” Bastida said. “It’s extremely dangerous, and many of the children we help are only 13 or 14 years old—some travel alone, some are separated at the border. I find it hard to comprehend, and I see this song as a tribute to their courage.”

The album joins a growing roster of anti‑ICE protest music, which includes Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Minneapolis,” U2’s “American Obituary,” and the Carlos Santana and Becky G collaboration “Mi Gran Amor,” recently nominated for a Latin Grammy. Colorado envisions this project as the start of a broader musical social‑justice movement, aiming to produce a second volume featuring artists from Minneapolis following intensified ICE raids and protests there earlier this year.

Hanna, who performed at Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields festival, hopes Contra‑ICE Vol. 1: ICE OUT grounds listeners in the emotional reality of immigrant communities. She noted that the relentless news cycle can turn shock into apathy, and that the songs should inspire connections and continued activism.

“It’s important to remind people of the many ways to protest,” Hanna added. “You can use your voice with anger, and that anger is a positive force that drives action. Expressing that anger can also bring joy—the joy of community.”

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