People Are Calling This Homeland Security “Pokémon”-Themed ICE Video “Heinously Evil Sh*t,” And They’re Not Wrong
“using pokémon to promote racist, fascist messaging is not only sickening but completely against the ideals of community and friendship that pokémon stands for.”
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No surprise to anyone following the chaotically unprofessional posting of the Trump administration on social media recently, but a new ICE video from the Department of Homeland Security dropped, and it’s their most bizarre yet.
The DHS has used viral memes and internet culture to promote ICE and their ongoing deportations, but this time, they might’ve joked around with the wrong fandom.
On Sept. 22, DHS shared a promo video depicting unsettling footage with the theme song “Gotta Catch’ Em All” from Pokémon in the background.
The video transitions between images of officers detaining people and clips from the popular 1997 TV show based on the franchise.
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There’s the use of the Pokémon text to spell “Department of Homeland Security.”
There are action clips of the Pokéballs capturing something, intertwined with handcuffed people.
And the most startling use of the theme is in the last couple of seconds of the video, with Pokémon cards based on the captured criminals.
If you thought the video was ridiculous, the @DHSgov account doubled down by replying to their supportive comments with screenshots from the animated series.
It’s certainly wild, to say the least.
In a statement to Eurogamer, The Pokémon Company clarified that they didn’t have any involvement in the production or distribution of the viral video. “We are aware of a recent video posted by the Department of Homeland Security that includes imagery and language associated with our brand. Our company was not involved in the creation or distribution of this content, and permission was not granted for the use of our intellectual property.”
So many people online were unhappy about DHS using Pokémon to make light of border enforcement, many calling for The Pokémon Company and Nintendo to take legal action.
“We need to channel all of the world’s energy into @NintendoAmerica and @Pokemon to sue the FUCKING SHIT out of Homeland Security for unauthorized visual representation!” one person wrote.
Another person called out Pokémon’s companies for taking down other content using their intellectual property for far less problematic purposes.
This person mocked, “Hi, we’re Homeland Security. We think rules are super important. If you want to stay in America, you better obey our laws! Anyway here’s a video where we commit copyright theft of the Pokémon IP, owing tens of millions of dollars in licensing fees & using it without permission.”
Others called Homeland Security’s video “racist, fascist messaging” that’s “completely against the ideals of the community and friendship” that the Pokémon franchise is known for.
“treating other people like they’re objects is inherently evil, and pokemon as whole and the pokemon community does not stand for such evil ideals,” someone else wrote.
Lastly, this person said, “That pokemon video is some heinously evil shit. Using a piece of our collective childhoods to dehumanize targets of state violence I never want to hear another complaint about ‘injecting politics into our hobbies’ from the right.”
Yikes.