The Department of Homeland Security released a Pokémon-themed clip spotlighting some of their biggest arrests — a move mocked online as “cute authoritarianism.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, the one-minute video boasted more than 68 million views. Set to the “Pokémon” theme song, it seemingly compares catching and arresting migrants to capturing the cute creatures made famous by the Japanese anime.
The video features federal law enforcement taking suspects into custody spliced together with clips from the popular cartoon.
“I will travel across the land, searching far and wide,” the jingle starts off. It continues as federal law enforcement officers can be seen detaining and taking people into the custody.
The video also highlights U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s “Worst of the Worst,” all of who have been turned into Pokémon trading cards with their own criminal stats. They include Nery Garcia Linares, a 32-year-old from Guatemala who has “been convicted of endangering the welfare of a 4-year-old child through sexual conduct.” He was arrested by ICE Newark on Sept. 18.
Moises Lopez-Zepeda, described as a 44-year-old “criminal alien” from Mexico, was previously “convicted of intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle in Rockwall County, Texas, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.” He was taken into custody by ICE Houston on Sept. 19.
“Gotta Catch ‘Em All,” the caption reads, invoking the Pokémon catchphrase.
The Customs and Border Protection agency replied to the video on X with a GIF of a dancing Pikachu, a beloved Pokémon character, claiming to be the “Border Patrol’s newest recruit”.
Other responses to the clip were less positive.
“A new example of the political aesthetic we know as Cute Authoritarianism,” Scottish novelist Ewan Morison wrote on X in response to the video.