ICE launches sickening ‘The Deportation Express’ campaign in latest crackdown on immigrants
Topics: Social Media, Sabrina Carpenter, Politics, Donald Trump, Immigration
Phoebe Tonks
Featured Image Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Topics: Social Media, Sabrina Carpenter, Politics, Donald Trump, Immigration
The White House has once again amped up its deportation campaign, after sharing a sickening parody of a popular children’s Christmas movie on social media.
On Tuesday, the official White House X account shared a meme featuring what it dubbed ‘The Deportation Express’ in a disturbing take on the 00’s Christmas movie The Polar Express.
Sharing an image in the style of the original movie poster, instead of the train which features prominently in the film, the poster featured a plane instead alongside the caption: "Here illegally? The Deporation Express."
"BELIEVE YOU CAN GO HOME! It doesn't matter where they're going. What matters is deciding to get on. CBP Home App to self-deport today!"
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Originally released in 2004, The Polar Express quickly became a firm fan favourite and has been delighting audiences for over 20 years. Featuring the voice of Tom Hanks, who used motion capture to perform multiple roles in the film, the movie follows a young boy who boards a special train on Christmas Eve to journey to the North Pole and fulfil a lifelong dream.
Since its release, the film has become a cult classic and often brings a little festive magic to households throughout the holiday season – something which make the White House’s decision to link it to ICE raids all the more disturbing for some.
"Did they seriously just take a Polar Express train and slap on White House propaganda on it?” wrote one outraged user on social media.
A second echoed the sentiment, commenting: "Imagine posting this s**t this close to Christmas."
While a third user wrote: “Free flight home + $1,000 cash and they made it look like a Hallmark Christmas movie... ".
The questionable ICE meme is just one of several to grace the White House’s official social media accounts in recent days and come shortly after it became embroiled in a tense feud with singer Sabrina Carpenter over the unsanctioned use of one of her songs in a ‘disgusting’ video promoting deportations.
Carpenter called out the US government on social media, as she commented underneath the video on X: "This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda."
Yet rather than back down, the White House proceeded to release a second video featuring the singer herself and edited audio which appeared to endorse ICE raids.
They also responded with a catty retort, writing: "Here’s a Short n’ Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: we won’t apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country.
"Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?"
The unusual promotion of immigration raids comes amid a crackdown by the Trump Administration on migrants both legal and otherwise, with Donald Trump doubling down on his quest to remove what he deems to be ‘criminal illegal aliens’ that ‘pose a moral threat’ since returning to office for a second term.
Trump has been targeting Democrat-majority cities under the guise of tackling ‘hotbeds of violent crime’.
Yet the latest ICE data revealed that 75,000 people who were arrested and detained from January 20 to October 15 had no criminal records, a third of the 220,000 people arrested by ICE in total over that period.