Joe Rogan didn’t hold back on his podcast this week, blasting President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement as “insane” and a betrayal of what voters were promised.
Speaking with guest Amjad Masad on Wednesday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan called out the escalating Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids that have increasingly targeted undocumented workers with no criminal records.
“It’s insane,” Rogan said. “There’s two things that are just nuts. First, the raids. They’re not going after gang members or cartel guys — they’re going after workers. Construction workers. Gardeners. ICE is showing up at job sites. That’s not what we were told.”
Rogan, who supported Trump in the 2024 election, expressed clear frustration with how immigration policies are unfolding under the president’s second term.
During the campaign, Trump had promised to deport criminals living in the U.S. illegally. But recent enforcement actions suggest a much broader crackdown, with ICE arresting thousands of migrants with no criminal records, according to federal data.
Masad also brought up the case of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University, who spent six weeks in ICE detention earlier this year. Her visa was revoked after she co-authored a college op-ed that criticized Israel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for her deportation.
“What was her essay about? Just critical of Israel, right?” Rogan asked.
“Just critical of Israel, yeah,” Masad responded.
“And that’s enough to get you kicked out of the country?” Rogan said, clearly stunned.
This isn’t the first time Rogan has sounded the alarm over Trump’s immigration policy. In a June 18 episode, he said the ICE raids were “fucking nuts” and questioned whether Trump would’ve won if voters had known the scope of the enforcement strategy.
“If Trump had said, ‘We’re going to raid Home Depot and construction sites and start arresting everyone,’ nobody would’ve gone for that,” Rogan said. “We were told they’d go after violent criminals. Instead, they’re tackling guys with tool belts.”
He continued: “This isn’t law and order — this is harassment.”
Though Rogan has supported Trump in the past, his recent comments signal growing disillusionment as the administration’s immigration crackdown becomes more visible — and controversial.
