DHS Faces Scrutiny for Sharing Neo-Nazi Song Following ICE-Related Death of Renee Good

In a troubling development, the Department of Homeland Security’s Instagram account posted a recruitment message featuring a song popular in neo-Nazi circles just two days after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis.

The post, which proclaimed “We’ll Have Our Home Again” alongside music by Pine Tree Riots, has raised serious concerns about the federal agency’s messaging. The song, which contains lyrics about reclaiming “our home” by “blood or sweat,” has been widely circulated in white nationalist communities and is associated with calls for racial violence.

This incident represents an escalating pattern in which federal agencies have begun adopting imagery and language associated with white supremacist movements. What makes this case particularly alarming is the timing—coming immediately after a fatal shooting by an ICE agent during a controversial enforcement operation.

“There was a sense of plausible deniability before,” explained Alice Marwick, director of research at Data & Society. “Those dog whistles were being done by supporters. Now they’re being done directly by the administration.”

The song “We’ll Have Our Home Again” has a dark history in extremist violence. It appeared prominently in the manifesto of Ryan Christopher Palmeter, the 21-year-old white supremacist who killed three Black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida in 2023. According to the Anti-Defamation League, Palmeter’s writings shared themes with other mass killers, including Brenton Tarrant, who murdered 51 Muslim worshippers in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2019.

Social media commentator Brian Hansbury, who tracks far-right activity through his Substack “Public Enlightenment,” highlighted the troubling nature of the timing. “When something like this appears immediately after a high-profile killing, it’s understood as intentional,” Hansbury said. “It reads as a message about who the agency is speaking to and the audience it is trying to reach.”

This is not DHS’s first controversy involving unauthorized music use. The department has faced backlash from multiple mainstream artists after using their songs without permission in recruitment materials. Pop singer Sabrina Carpenter condemned a White House/ICE video using her song “Juno” as “evil and disgusting,” forcing its removal. Olivia Rodrigo criticized DHS for using “All-American Bitch” in a self-deportation promotion, calling it “racist, hateful propaganda.” Similar complaints came from Grammy winner SZA and rock group MGMT.

Beyond music, DHS social media accounts have increasingly incorporated imagery associated with white nationalist themes. In July 2025, the agency shared an image titled “A Heritage to be proud of, a Homeland worth Defending” featuring the 19th-century painting “American Progress,” a work frequently referenced in white nationalist circles for its depiction of westward expansion and Indigenous displacement.

The department later posted a meme bearing a watermark from iFunny, a platform repeatedly criticized for hosting extremist content. The imagery aligned with “Agartha” memes—a strain of far-right fantasy content imagining a hidden, racially pure civilization beneath Earth’s surface.

“Memes are often used to mainstream white supremacist ideas by starting with beliefs that are more socially acceptable, and then gradually pushing boundaries,” Marwick explained.

The song “We’ll Have Our Home Again” has deep roots in extremist movements. Originally written by the Männerbund, a nationalist group associated with Germany’s Völkisch movement, it has found new life in modern far-right online culture. Members of the Proud Boys have been recorded chanting its refrain, “By God, we’ll have our home,” at rallies in Northern California.

DHS isn’t alone in this troubling trend. The Department of Labor recently faced criticism for a post mirroring Nazi-era slogans, suggesting a broader pattern within the current administration.

What distinguishes this situation from previous instances of online extremism is that these messages now come directly from federal law enforcement agencies with significant authority. As Marwick noted, “Now there is no plausible deniability. It’s really clear that the message they’re trying to send is meant to be read one way.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment on the controversial post.