The U.S. Department of Homeland Security committed not one, but two blatant intellectual property violations on its social media. Clips of right-leaning podcaster Theo Von and footage from the children’s anime “Pokémon” were used in DHS posts without any prior permission or communication to their respective creators. A bit of due diligence would have prevented this embarrassing display, but it seems President Donald Trump and his administration are too dimwitted to care when it comes to spreading propaganda.
Simply being an immigrant inside the U.S. without proper documentation is not a crime; it is a civil offense akin to parking violations, littering or walking an unleashed dog where it is not permitted. To get around this, misdemeanor “illegal entry” and felony “illegal re-entry” laws have been created to criminalize immigration violations. The DHS does not care to distinguish between those who commit civil offenses versus criminal offenses; instead, it cherry picks undocumented immigrants who have committed violent crimes and uses them as justification for demonizing all undocumented immigrants — its “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” post using “Pokémon” IP is a prime example.
After displaying a montage of homes being blown up and suspected undocumented immigrants being apprehended, a slideshow of the “Worst of the Worst” was displayed on edited “Pokémon” cards; those people committed violent criminal offenses. This is a deliberate attempt to promote militaristic levels of force from law enforcement against civilians under the guise of protecting citizens from violent criminals. However, the DHS never discloses that undocumented immigrants are 47% less likely to be convicted of a crime than native-born U.S. citizens. Information from the DHS that is this biased and one-sided is pure propaganda.
The DHS leaves their audience ill-informed, angry and afraid with their inflammatory posts. Under a “Pokémon” card-themed post, depicting one of the “Worst of the Worst” immigrants who have been convicted of crimes, white-supremacist sentiments have flourished. SNazzyTravvy on X replied, “Not even close to long enough any Latino should [be] receiving much extended sentences compared to Americans!!!!!” TruthNoticer on X begged, “Do inner city blacks please! No group poses a bigger threat to the USA! NONE! They are #1 biggest threat. Please HELP!!!!!!!!”
Von opted to distance himself from the sentiments shared by the DHS and its followers by responding on X. He wanted nothing to do with the “hopecore” style edit created by the federal department.
“Yooo DHS i didnt approve to be used in this. I know you know my address so send a check,” Von stated. In another response, he said, “And please take this down and please keep me out of your ‘banger’ deportation videos. When it comes to immigration my thoughts and heart are alot more nuanced than this video allows. Bye!”
The DHS serves to secure the U.S. from the threats it faces, but it has become a threat to everyone inside the U.S. under the Trump administration. The DHS has targeted a minority of people to scapegoat as the root of all evil, created IP-violating propaganda to promote violent apprehensions and groomed Americans into believing white-supremacist ideology. It seems anything goes when it comes to advancing the right’s ideology.
