Homeland Security Releases Controversial Military-Style Recruitment Videos

Federal Immigration Raids Spark Controversy Over Media Tactics

When helicopters descended on a Chicago apartment building last week, federal agents in military-style gear conducted raids that left local residents terrified. For Department of Homeland Security officials, however, the operation presented something else: an opportunity to create dramatic recruiting content with helmet camera footage and action movie-style editing.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), flush with funding from congressional Republicans and embarking on an ambitious hiring push, has adopted a controversial social media strategy featuring highly produced videos of raids and arrests. These videos, which have drawn comparisons to military recruitment ads and video games, carry messages like “Bag it. Tag it. Take it down” – language more commonly associated with hunting or combat operations than domestic law enforcement.

“Imagine being a child wakened in the middle of the night by a Blackhawk helicopter on your roof,” said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker during a press conference Tuesday, criticizing federal agents for arriving with camera crews during the Chicago operations.

The media strategy represents a significant shift in how immigration enforcement is presented to the public. Rather than focusing on traditional border security messaging, the videos showcase arrests happening deep within American cities, often featuring masked agents sprinting after individuals in urban settings.

Juliette Kayyem, CNN Senior National Security Analyst and former assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs during the Obama administration, noted the unusual nature of these productions. “They do not look like police videos,” Kayyem said. “They look like campaign ones.” She suggested the videos appear designed to “scare communities, pretend like they are fighting a dangerous threat, or, as I suspect, to be used in GOP campaigns.”

The social media campaign has drawn comparisons to wartime propaganda efforts, though with a significantly different focus. While Frank Capra’s famous “Why We Fight” films during World War II aimed to boost morale against foreign threats, the DHS videos target operations against individuals within the United States.

The department’s social media strategy has embraced contemporary platforms and influencer culture. Videos feature dramatic arrests set to music, fitness-focused agents in tactical gear, and knowing references to internet culture. This approach has resulted in several controversies, including unauthorized use of the Pokémon theme song and clips from celebrities who later objected to their inclusion.

Country singer Zach Bryan found himself in the crossfire when he released a song seemingly critical of ICE operations. DHS responded by using another of his songs as soundtrack for raid footage. Bryan later clarified his position on Instagram: “Everyone using this now as a weapon is only proving how devastatingly divided we all are. We need to find our way back.”

The content often features conservative influencers accompanying operations. One video shared by content creator Benny Johnson showed DHS Secretary Kristi Noem reportedly confronting a man she identified as a pedophile, supporting the administration’s claim that enforcement prioritizes criminals. However, the man was not identified in the video, making verification impossible.

Questions have emerged about who exactly is being targeted in these operations. When DHS released information about “the worst of the worst” immigrants arrested in Portland, describing them as hardened criminals, journalists found some named individuals had no associated Oregon or federal cases. Other detainees had recently completed prison sentences.

The administration’s allegations about detainees have come under scrutiny, particularly after claims about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year, proved to be overstated. Abrego Garcia, now back in the US facing human smuggling charges, was initially sent to a notorious Salvadoran supermax prison – another facility featured prominently in DHS videos.

Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino, who leads operations in Chicago, defended the videos in an interview with CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez. “Transparency,” Bovino said when asked about the social media strategy’s purpose. “Our social media is designed to give the public a snapshot, a real-time snapshot of what is really happening.”

When questioned about the highly produced nature of the content, Bovino insisted: “It might be so real life that it appears to be Hollywood, but a lot of that is real time.”

Public opinion remains divided on the administration’s deportation efforts. A recent New York Times/Siena poll found that while a majority of Americans, particularly Republicans, support deporting those in the country illegally, a similar majority believes the current process has been unfair.

As operations continue, questions persist about whether these media tactics serve legitimate law enforcement purposes or are designed primarily for political messaging.