This happened while she was addressing the press at the festival held on Sunday, January 25.
Portman —alongside Jenna Ortega and Olivia Wilde— harshly criticized ICE's actions during a wave of protests triggered by the fatal shooting of nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by federal agents, an incident that has shocked the country. "It is absolutely outrageous and must stop," Portman declared at the festival, where she wore a pin with the phrase "ICE Out" to make her rejection visible. Ortega, co-star of the film The Gallerist presented at Sundance, agreed that it is "difficult" to celebrate cinema in such a painful context.
The statements were made in an atmosphere of nationwide protests and criticism of the federal government for the lack of sanctions against the involved agents. Celebrities and Sundance attendees joined the movement with badges and demonstrations, raising the debate on civil rights, immigration control, and the use of force.