The Trump administration is fundamentally reshaping federal communications by leveraging viral internet culture to sanitize and promote mass deportation efforts. Since the summer of 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have pivoted from traditional public relations to a strategy of “banger memes,” using catchy jingles and Gen Z humor to frame state-sponsored removals as entertainment. This digital shift, experts warn, serves a dual purpose: recruiting a new generation of officers while systematically dehumanizing the immigrant population.
Viral Humor as a Tool for State Propaganda
The strategy first gained mainstream notoriety through the appropriation of a viral trend involving Jet2, a British budget airline. DHS social media accounts shared footage of handcuffed detainees boarding a plane, synchronized to the airline’s upbeat marketing jingle with the caption: “When ICE books you a one-way Jet2 holiday to deportation. Nothing beats it!” While the post drew sharp criticism from human rights advocates, it resonated deeply with the administration’s base, garnering thousands of supportive comments and “crying-laughing” emojis.
This is not an isolated incident. The administration’s digital footprint now mirrors the aesthetics of far-right “shitposting” accounts. Recent examples include:
- The Sinatra Soundtrack: A video of ICE detainees boarding a flight set to Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly With Me,” captioned “Next stop: Literally anywhere but here.”
- Alligator Alcatraz: A June 28 post featuring alligators in ICE hats to promote a detention facility in the Florida Everglades.
- Night Vision Surveillance: A TikTok-style video using Chico Rose’s “Somebody’s Watching Me” over footage of migrants being tracked by thermal scopes.
Recruitment Tactics Targeting the Next Generation
Beyond public optics, these memes function as a sophisticated recruitment engine. Faced with the mandate to hire 14,050 new ICE officers over the next three years, the administration is using “frat-house” humor to appeal to young men in their teens and twenties. One specific recruitment poster repurposed a 1982 Ford Club Wagon advertisement, asking potential hires if they wanted to “deport illegals with your absolute boys.”
Joan Donovan, an assistant professor at Boston University and coauthor of Meme Wars, notes that this targeted promotion is intentional. “DHS in particular is trying to use Twitter and Instagram as a form of not just recruitment but also promotion,” Donovan explains, highlighting that the content is specifically calibrated for the young male demographic prevalent in the far-right online ecosystem.
The Intersection of Christian Nationalism and Manifest Destiny
The administration’s messaging frequently bridges the gap between casual internet humor and deep-seated nationalist ideologies. DHS has recently shared imagery associated with Christian nationalism and the 19th-century concept of Manifest Destiny. One post featured the painting “New Life in a New Land,” depicting a white settler family, with the caption “Remember your Homeland’s Heritage.” Another utilized John Gast’s “American Progress,” an iconic representation of westward expansion that displaced indigenous populations, captioned as “a heritage to be proud of.”
Brian Levin, founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, argues that these are not merely nostalgic images. “It functions as an emotionally familiar and comforting gift-wrap that here revolves around protection, preservation, fear and tribalism,” Levin states. He suggests these posts create an “ideologically connective bridge” between modern border policy and racially restrictive historical eras.
Divine Authority and “The Batman”
The administration has also begun incorporating biblical scripture into its social media output. A July video superimposed Proverbs 28:1—“The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion”—over footage of nocturnal border operations. The audio featured a voiceover from the 2022 film The Batman, warning “criminal illegal aliens” that “darkness is no longer your ally.” Experts suggest this juxtaposition frames the administration’s actions as a divine mission, effectively casting political opponents and migrants as “evil” in a primordial struggle.
Official Responses and the Reality of Detention
When questioned about the shift toward aggressive meme-driven messaging, administration officials remained defiant. DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin dismissed inquiries as a “silly little story,” accusing the media of ignoring victims of crime to do the “bidding of violent criminal illegal aliens.” Similarly, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson defended the strategy, stating the administration “won’t apologize for posting banger memes.”
However, federal data provides a stark contrast to the “criminal” narrative pushed by these digital campaigns. Approximately 70 percent of ICE detainees have no criminal record whatsoever. Many of those who do have convictions have only committed minor infractions, such as traffic violations or immigration-related offenses. Kurt Braddock, an assistant professor at American University, warns that the danger lies in the normalization of aggression. “With the normalization of the dehumanization of others… it’s not much of a jump to actual violence,” Braddock concludes.
