Danny Trejo says he’s ‘not pro-ICE’ amid backlash over Daily Wire ‘Pawn Shop’ movie

Actor and Los Angeles businessperson Danny Trejo said he does not back Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as he faces backlash for signing on to perform in the film “Pawn Shop,” which is produced by conservative commentator Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire.

Production resumed in Livingston, Mont., on Monday after residents complained about the project’s impact on a nearby food bank and claimed there were improper warnings about the film’s stunts, Variety reported . Shapiro lambasted the initial pause as “content discrimination.”

Trejo, who told TMZ on Friday that he shared with people on the film’s set that he was drawn to playing a positive depiction of a Latino who is a veteran, wrote on Instagram that same day that his job on the film “is to tell a story.”

“I am a proud Mexican who has always been and will always be a supporter of my community. I am also obviously pro-immigrant,” the actor wrote. “I am not pro-ICE. I know where I come from and I know our struggles.”

His son, actor Gilbert Trejo, also addressed the backlash toward his father online. He reiterated that his dad, known for playing knife-wielding villains and anti-heroes like in “Desperado” and “Machete,” respectively, is not “pro-ICE” and he “jumped at the idea of playing a good guy.”

“About two weeks into shooting, everyone, including us, found out Ben Shapiro was involved,” Gilbert Trejo wrote online in a post later shared by local news outlet San Fernando Sun/El Sol . “My 82-year-old dad has never heard of Ben Shapiro, I had to explain to him who that is, and what kind of guy he is.”

Gilbert Trejo added that his dad “can’t badmouth” Shapiro and the film, nor walk off set without facing a lawsuit for breaching his contract.

“It’s f‑‑‑ed up. He’s handcuffed to this stupid project, and swaths of people have instantly turned their back on him without knowing any of the facts,” the “Con Air” star’s son continued. “Ben Shapiro got Mexicans to abandon one of their heroes, got his own name to the top of Google’s searches and made us look like angry fools lacking any nuance. He wins.”

The official description for the film reads: “When a Minneapolis riot forces a young ICE officer to complete a high-stakes arrest alone after his partner is killed, he is hunted through the streets by a furious mob intent on freeing the prisoner and punishing anyone who still upholds the law.”

“Barricaded inside a neighborhood pawn shop with a hard-edged Hispanic veteran and the man’s progressive college-age grandson, ordinary men must choose between the rule of law and the chaos that wants to burn it all down in a modern siege of honor and defiance,” the description continues.

TMZ captured video that appeared to recreate the death of Minneapolis resident and U.S. citizen Renee Good , who was killed by ICE officers after an incident amid growing protests to President Trump’s deportation operations in January.

Danny Trejo has become an institution in Southern California life, opening a small chain of successful restaurants and a coffee shop in parts of Los Angeles. He has also been an advocate for helping people addicted to drugs seek help, for veterans and for working with animal welfare organizations.