Actor Danny Trejo said Friday that he is "not pro-ICE," his first statement since fans criticized his role in Pawn Shop. The Daily Wire is making the film with Bonfire Legend, producer Dallas Sonnier's company. Ben Shapiro co-founded The Daily Wire, a conservative media company. The film's official synopsis follows a young federal agent who hides in a Minneapolis pawn shop during unrest. Critics say the opening scene of a leaked script echoes the January killing of Renée Good, a Minneapolis woman whom an ICE officer shot. The film has been shooting in Livingston, Montana, since late September. After residents complained, the city commission paused the film's permit on October 3. Two days later, it voted unanimously to restore the permit with conditions. Filming in Livingston is set to end Saturday, October 10.

Trejo Says He's an Actor, Not an ICE Supporter

He says the role doesn't change where he stands.

He says his views haven't changed. "I am a proud Mexican who has always been and will always be a supporter of my community," Trejo, 82, wrote. "I am also obviously, pro-immigrant. I am not pro-ICE."

He says playing a part isn't an endorsement. "I know where I come from and I know our struggles," he wrote. "I am an actor. My job is to tell a story." TMZ reported that he plays the shop's owner, a veteran. TMZ also reported that he took the role because it shows a Latino veteran in a positive light.

One writer says taking the role doesn't prove his views. Before Trejo's statement, HipLatina writer Anna Ortega wrote that "his participation alone does not establish his views on ICE." In 2025, Trejo told families hit by ICE raids to "keep up hope."

But Critics Say the Film Rewrites a Real Killing

The film's opponents say it turns Good's death into a pro-ICE story, whatever Trejo's personal views.

Critics object most to the opening scene. The Bulwark obtained the script. In it, a woman named Melanie rams an ICE vehicle and kills an agent, and his partner shoots her. Brooklyn Wilde is a Livingston activist whose posts spread news of the shoot. "They're rewriting the truth," Wilde said of the scene.

Critics call it propaganda. Drew Gillis of The A.V. Club called the film "a pro-ICE propaganda piece." The Bulwark's Will Sommer reported that the script "centers on an Antifa siege of a Minneapolis pawn shop amid anti-ICE unrest."

Some crew members reportedly walked off. IndieWire reported that crew members quit after learning what the film was about. One unnamed crew member said they'd been told it was a "fun action movie" and added, "If I had known this, then I would not have even accepted the job."

The Producers Say This Is About Free Speech

The Daily Wire says the town tried to stop the film because of its politics.

The producers say the pause was censorship. "There's only one reason the city commissioners ruled they were going to stop our production on the street: politics, pure and simple," Shapiro said on his show. He called it "content discrimination openly performed and a violation of the First Amendment." He pointed to Commissioner Cindy Daniels, who said "this wasn't a Hallmark film."

Producers say permits shouldn't depend on the story. "A film permit should depend on lawful compliance, not approval of the story being told," Sonnier told the commission. He said he hired professional security after a truck drove through the barricades on the first day of filming.

They say protesters were the danger. Matthew Monforton, an attorney for the production, wrote in a letter that protesters subjected the cast and crew to "12 days of threats, assaults and sabotage." Shapiro said the film "will be completed and it will be released and it will be highly successful."

Livingston Locals Say the Fight Was Over the Food Bank

Many locals say they objected to how the crew ran the shoot, not what the film says.

The food bank says the shoot kept people from getting food. Kaya Patten-Fusselman runs the Livingston Food Resource Center, across the street from the set. She told HuffPost that traffic to the pantry dropped 17% after filming began. "It's genuinely impacting our clients' ability to get food," she said.

City officials say the content didn't matter. City attorney Jon Hesse told commissioners, "The content of the film is not relevant." Commissioner James Willich said at the October 3 meeting that he was "absolutely infuriated" by "either malfeasance or lack of competence" from the production. Sommer reported that few people at the October 3 hearing brought up the film's content. Katy Canetta, who lives near the set, said the pushback at the October 3 meeting had nothing to do with the film's subject matter, Montana Free Press reported.

Where This Lands

Trejo says he's pro-immigrant and was doing his job as an actor. Critics say the film turns a real woman's death into a pro-ICE story. IndieWire reported that some crew members quit over it. Shapiro and the producers say Livingston tried to censor a film over its politics. Many locals and city officials say their complaints were about food bank access and the crew's security. Filming in Livingston is set to wrap Saturday, and Shapiro says the movie will be released.

Sources