The Department of Homeland Security has issued a new poster on the web, reminiscent of those from World War II, urging American citizens to help locate and report immigrants who are in the country without papers.
“Help your country and yourself,” reads the poster, which shows the classic Uncle Sam with a hammer nailing a flyer to a wall, “Report All Foreign Invaders.” The poster also shows the number to call to alert ICE officials.
The image was posted on DHS social channels and was widely shared on the social X platform this week, including by White House officials.
The poster’s language reflects the message expressed in recent weeks by President Trump and his loyalists, who have labeled illegal immigrants in the country as “foreign invaders” and blamed Democrats for allowing mass immigration into the United States during former President Biden’s term.
The release of the DHS poster comes at a difficult time for the country, marked by the great tensions that have arisen in the aftermath of protests by thousands of citizens against ICE raids. Over the past week, no fewer than 900 protesters have been arrested in ten different locations across the nation–most of them in Los Angeles, the city that started the riots.
Given the timing, critics of the administration saw the DHS poster as yet another provocation by the government. The post triggered a wave of criticism, with some social media users comparing it to a poster typical of authoritarian regimes. On Thursday, at least two far-right accounts on X claimed to have helped create or spread the image before it was shared by DHS.
“Every American citizen should support federal law enforcement in their just effort to deport criminal illegal alien invaders from our country,” said Tricia McLaughlin, DHS Assistant Secretary, in defense of the poster. “During the Biden Administration our borders were opened to an invasion by the very worst from around the world. Now President Trump and Secretary Noem are reversing the destruction of our nation.”
