Michael Che’s biting commentary about ICE agents did not sit well with certain audiences.
During Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update, the 42-year-old comedian mocked federal agents after yet another fatal encounter in Minneapolis.
“I can’t even laugh about it anymore, I am exhausted, horrified and pis*ed off,” one netizen commented online.
Highlights
- Michael Che sparked outrage for his biting commentary about ICE agents.
- Some viewers found the joke “weak” and said it wasn’t hard-hitting enough. Others, meanwhile, criticized Michael and felt he was trivializing a serious issue.
- “Man I hate SNL why the f*** are they making light hearted jokes about this?!??” read one comment online.
Michael Che’s biting commentary about ICE agents did not sit well with certain audiences
Image credits: Mike Birbiglia
As they do for every Weekend Update, anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost sat down in SNL's recent episode for the satirical news program, in which they give their sarcastic commentary on current events.
Michael took a moment to talk about ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and Border Patrol agents, making a joke at their expense.
Image credits: Saturday Night Live
At a time when immigration enforcement in the US is being hotly discussed, Michael spoke about how Vice President JD Vance gave some suggestions to protestors.
He began by saying, “Vice President JD Vance criticized protesters confronting ICE officers, saying they should instead write an op-ed or argue about it on social media.”
“You know, just like these young scholars did on Jan. 6,” he added, pointing to a photo of rioters entering the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
Michael spoke about how Vice President JD Vance’s suggestions to protestors
Image credits: Saturday Night Live
The SNL host then went on to address recent incidents in the country where federal agents fired at civilians and claimed their lives in the name of self-defense.
“I get that ICE agents are people, allegedly. And they have a job to do. But at some point, while you’re pepper-spraying old ladies or sho*ting at a nurse, do you ever stop and ask yourself, ‘Are we d***s?’” he went on to say.
Image credits: Jacek Boczarski/Getty Images
Netizens had mixed reactions to the comments during the segment, with one saying, “one of the darkest Weekend updates I've ever seen.”
Some viewers found the joke “weak” and said it wasn’t hard-hitting enough. Others, meanwhile, criticized Michael and felt he was trivializing a serious issue.
“Either make a real statement condemning it or don't even say anything at all. That was so weak,” one said.
“Man I hate SNL why the f*** are they making light hearted jokes about this?!??” read one comment online
Image credits: Late Night with Seth Meyers
Another wrote, “I love it when Che hits hard enough to make the audience go ‘whoooooaa.’”
“We truly live in a dystopia if we make satire and comedy out of times like these,” another said.
“I can’t laugh at this,” said another. “A man was just executed in front of my local donut shop. Take a f***ing stand.”
“Life will always be filled with difficult times but the show must go on. SNL has pulled me through darkness more times than I can count, and I’ve been watching from day 1,” another said.
Image credits: Jacek Boczarski/Getty Images
The US witnessed national outrage after federal immigration agents fatally struck Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and US citizen, on January 24, 2026.
The government’s account of the confrontation differed sharply from witness accounts and videos of the incident.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initially stated that the federal agents acted in self-defense when they tackled Alex and fired about 10 bullets at him in the span of five seconds.
However, video footage and witness narratives captured the ICU nurse holding a phone in his hand and not actively threatening agents when the firing began.
The government’s account of the confrontation differed sharply from witness accounts and videos of the incident
Image credits: Saturday Night Live
Some reports revealed that he was trying to help a woman who was being pepper-sprayed by the federal agents.
“The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn’t see him touch any of them – he wasn’t even turned toward them,” one witness said about the events that took place during Alex’s final moments.
A witness said Alex didn't seem like he was trying to resist during the fatal encounter
Image credits: Jacek Boczarski/Getty Images
“It didn’t look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn’t see him with a g*n,” the same witness said.
“They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started sho*ting him,” she continued, saying the agents fired “so many times” but she didn't know why.
“He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just sh*t him …” she added.
Image credits: Saturday Night Live
The woman said the DHS statement about the incident was “wrong.”
Contrary to the agency’s statement, she said the man approached the agents with a camera and not a woman.
“He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground,” said the witness, who reportedly filmed the encounter from just behind where Alex was.
“I feel afraid,” she added. “Only hours have passed since they sh*t a man right in front me, and I don’t feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me.”
“This episode was terrible overall,” one netizen commented on SNL’s recent episode
