DHS Is Embracing Right-Wing Meme Aesthetics to Frame Immigration as Cultural War Amid Hiring Push: Report

The Department of Homeland Security is increasingly using memes drawn from right-wing online culture to promote immigration enforcement and recruit thousands of new personnel, according to new reporting from The Dispatch.

The approach includes imagery and language inspired by The Lord of the Rings, Halo, medieval knight and The Patriot, content more commonly associated with gaming and far-right meme communities than official government messaging.

The Dispatch reports that DHS and White House social media accounts have circulated posts portraying immigration enforcement as a civilizational battle.

One meme paired a quote from The Lord of the Rings—"We come to it at last, the great battle of our time"—with a recruitment link for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Another featured a group of knights beneath the caption "the enemies are at the gates." A separate Halo-themed post urged viewers to "destroy the flood," prompting video game designers to condemn the usage.

These materials increasingly frame immigration as a threat to American "identity" and "culture," as the site points out. In multiple videos released by DHS, senior communications official Micah Bock has said the department must defend American culture from "communists, terrorists, and globalists," arguing that recruits will "shape the future of our nation." In one message, he said, "For heritage Americans, President Trump's DHS is a steadfast defender of our birthright."

John Sandweg, a former acting director of ICE during the Obama administration, told The Dispatch the strategy differs sharply from the more conventional communications used during Trump's first term:

"When you combine this [messaging] with what appears to be really rushed and incredibly limited vetting and background checks, the bigger concern here is you're getting people who have an agenda, who are just anti-migration"

The Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch project reported back in August that DHS and ICE recruitment materials have also drawn on white supremacist and neo-Nazi symbols.

The group traced a recruitment image to an account associated with white nationalist content—featuring Uncle Sam and the phrase "REPORT ALL FOREIGN INVADERS"—which the creator celebrated after its government repurposing. Hatewatch also flagged imagery echoing neo-Nazi publications and memes using slogans like "defend the homeland," language linked to "great replacement" ideology. DHS dismissed the findings.

Other posts reviewed by Hatewatch used imagery of armed white men with no identifying insignia, which observers said resembled militia propaganda. Additional DHS posts have repurposed frontier art and settler-era iconography; scholars noted that these images present a narrow vision of American heritage. In one case, DHS posted Morgan Weistling's painting A Prayer for a New Life alongside text urging viewers to "Remember your Homeland's Heritage."

DHS, in the meantime, argues that the strategy enables it to reach online audiences directly. Former White House official Billy McLaughlin described the approach as "content-first," using memes to "shape narratives" and "build momentum," as The Dispatch points out.