A growing number of U.S. corporations and pop culture artists are publicly distancing themselves from the Department of Homeland Security and criticizing the agency for utilizing their content in posts and branding aimed at immigration enforcement activities and new officer recruitment.
In recent weeks, companies including INDYCAR, Penske Truck Rental and Ford Motor Company have all said that their content was used by DHS without permission or in violation of company policies. Popular bands and artists including Semisonic, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC), Jess Glynne, Thomas Kinkade and Morgan Weistling have similarly asked DHS to stop using their work or take down posts.
Reached by Scripps News, a DHS spokesperson declined to answer questions about the process by which DHS identifies and clears intellectual property, nor would the official state how the agency is responding to the companies’ criticisms. The agency said in a statement only that, “DHS will continue using every tool at its disposal to keep the American people informed as our agents work to Make America Safe Again.”
Elected officials and political campaigns utilizing pop culture material for online memes and social media posts is nothing new, and the Trump campaign has long received criticism from artists about its use of their material without permission.
But the fact that these posts – many of which contain controversial material that some find offensive -- are now coming from official government accounts breaks with the norms of decorum long associated with traditional government communications, experts say.
“It's still sometimes a little bit jarring when you see, you know, an official government account, like Department of Homeland Security, communicating in that tone,” said Joel Penney, who studies the intersection of politics and pop culture at Montclair State University. “There's a certain sense of established norms around official government communication.”
Among the posts in question are a doctored image taken from an iconic advertisement for Ford’s 1982 Club Wagon.
Think about how many criminal illegal aliens you could fit in this bad boy!https://t.co/nZkBEj4evQ pic.twitter.com/GH3SL1va0M
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) August 5, 2025
At the bottom of the DHS image reads the text “Want to deport illegals with your absolute boys?” while the post asks viewers to “Think about how many criminal illegal aliens you could fit in this bad boy!” and directs them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement's recruitment site.
"Ford did not pre-approve the usage of this advertisement and our preference is that company IP not be used in relation to this campaign or other political issues,” a Ford spokesperson told Scripps News exclusively when asked about the image.
As of Monday afternoon, the post remained live on DHS’s X page. The agency did not respond to an inquiry about whether it would be taken down in light of Ford’s comments.
But other posts from the agency that have been subject to similar criticism appear to have been taken down or altered.
Earlier this month, a DHS post on X announcing the creation of a new immigration detention center in Indiana dubbed the “Speedway Slammer” featured what appeared to be an AI-generated image of a white IndyCar painted with the letters ICE, as well as the No. 5 – prompting critics to note that Pato O’Ward, who uses the same number on his car when racing, is the only Mexican Indy500 driver.
"Consistent with our approach to public policy and political issues, we are communicating our preference that our IP not be utilized moving forward in relation to this matter," IndyCar told Scripps News. The original post has since been deleted and replaced with one showing generic ICE-branded racecars in front of an apparent immigration prison.
The Speedway Slammer: Coming Soon 🏁 pic.twitter.com/Ke5BOPVSVI
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) August 8, 2025
DHS’s use of several popular songs in its social media posts has also prompted copyright takedown requests, a process artist or their teams can use to demand that social media companies strip posts of copyrighted music. Among the artists whose music has been removed from DHS posts are Jay-Z, BRMC and Semisonic – whose representatives told Scripps News that DHS’s use of the song “Closing Time” over videos of migrants being deported “missed the point entirely.”
Asked about the band’s criticism, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time that the song “sums up our immigration policy pretty well: You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.”
Despite the White House's defense, the post has since been deleted.
And beyond the lack of permission granted to use their content, some companies have also called out the intent behind DHS’s posts and actions.
After an immigration enforcement operation reportedly dubbed “Project Trojan Horse” utilized a Penske truck to round up and arrest migrants outside a Home Depot in Los Angeles, Penske Truck Rental issued a statement noting that the company “strictly prohibits the transportation of people in the cargo area of its vehicles under any circumstances” and would be reaching out to DHS to “avoid improper use of its vehicles in the future.”
Taken together, DHS’s social media presence – particularly the posts aimed at boosting ICE recruitment – showcase a desire to reach an audience plagued by social isolation, one expert said.
“A pervasive sentiment today is a feeling of isolation, a feeling of alienation, of not belonging to anything, because in a very real sense, we don't belong to things anymore,” said Brian Ott, professor of communication at Missouri State University and author of the book, The Twitter Presidency, that scrutinizes Trump’s use of social media. “These memes promise a sense of belonging.”
Meanwhile the aggressive type of social media presence epitomized by the DHS posts appears to be spreading to other GOP causes: late last week, for example, the Republican Party of Florida began advertising new merchandise branded “THE DEPORT DEPOT” in the style of Home Depot’s bright orange logo.
The posts, which have since been deleted, prompted a rebuke from Home Depot corporate, whose spokesperson told Scripps News, “We don't allow any organization to use our branding or logo for their commercial purposes.”
According to Ott, however, these sorts of posts – whether or not they’re deleted -- reinforce a message coming from the Trump administration and Republicans more broadly that officials don’t have to abide by longstanding norms or face accountability for their actions.
“The content is not nearly as important as the style, because the style is what carries the affect,” Ott said. “And the affect is: I'm not answerable to anybody.”
