US Department of Labor Posters Wrongly Compared to Nazi Propaganda, Fact Check Reveals

The Department of Homeland Security has sparked controversy after deploying social media graphics that critics claim contain white nationalist imagery and anti-immigrant messaging in a recent recruitment campaign. The materials, which began circulating online last month, have drawn sharp criticism from civil rights organizations and immigration advocates.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) published an analysis of the campaign materials yesterday, highlighting disturbing parallels between the DHS graphics and imagery historically used by white nationalist groups. “These recruitment materials employ visual language and symbolism remarkably similar to those found in propaganda from known extremist organizations,” said Miranda Lindsay-Schubiner, a researcher with the Western States Center who specializes in tracking far-right movements.

Experts point to specific elements in the graphics that have raised alarm, including stylized depictions of nuclear families alongside nationalistic symbols and text emphasizing “protection” against perceived external threats. The imagery bears striking similarities to materials used by the American Identity Movement (AIM), a rebranded version of the white nationalist group Identity Evropa, according to the SPLC report.

The controversy comes amid the administration’s increasingly hard-line stance on immigration policy. Earlier this year, President Trump issued an executive order titled “Protecting The American People Against Invasion,” which dramatically expanded deportation authorities and border enforcement measures. Critics argue the language in both the executive order and the recruitment materials frames immigrants as existential threats to American society.

“The rhetoric and imagery being deployed by DHS isn’t subtle,” said Mark Wingfield, executive director of Baptist News Global, who characterized the campaign as “Nazi-like” in its use of religious and family imagery to promote nationalist sentiments. Wingfield’s organization published an analysis noting parallels between the DHS materials and propaganda posters from 1930s Germany that similarly used idealized family imagery alongside nationalist symbolism.

The Baptist News Global report specifically highlighted how the DHS materials feature church imagery and traditional family structures reminiscent of mid-century American advertising that promoted an exclusionary vision of national identity. Historical advertisement collections from the 1940s, including Lee Rubber & Tire Corporation’s “These Are Fundamental” campaign, used similar imagery of nuclear families, churches, and homes to promote American values during wartime.

Stephen Miller, a senior advisor to the president with significant influence over immigration policy, has reportedly played a key role in shaping both policy and messaging. According to multiple White House sources speaking to Reuters last month, Miller has been instrumental in coordinating communications strategy across federal agencies dealing with immigration enforcement.

The administration has defended the campaign materials as simply promoting “traditional American values” and “national security.” A DHS spokesperson insisted the graphics are meant to emphasize the department’s role in protecting American communities and have no connection to extremist ideologies.

However, immigration advocates note this controversy follows other recent aggressive policies, including the Labor Department’s “Project Firewall” investigation targeting H-1B visa holders and their employers. TIME magazine reported last month that this initiative has created significant uncertainty in the technology sector, where many companies rely on skilled foreign workers.

The Human Rights Watch recently published a report identifying ten harmful immigration policies implemented by the administration since January, including family separation policies, asylum restrictions, and what they describe as “dehumanizing rhetoric” used to justify these measures.

Bethania Palma, a fact-checker at Snopes who has covered immigration policy extensively, noted that this administration has consistently used visual and verbal communication strategies that “frame immigration as an invasion rather than a complex socioeconomic phenomenon,” a framing that experts warn can fuel xenophobia and racial tensions.

As the controversy continues to unfold, civil rights organizations have called for immediate removal of the materials and a review of DHS recruitment and public communications strategies. The department has not yet indicated whether it plans to modify or withdraw the campaign.