The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is now posting Pokémon memes to propagandize its immigration crackdown and ICE raids, sparking backlash from fans of the game franchise, who are urging Nintendo and The Pokémon Company to take action.
In a video posted to the DHS X account on Wednesday, the organization’s social media team posted a video of raids and arrests by federal agents, setting it to the Pokémon animated series theme song and splicing it with footage of Ash Ketchum. The video accompanied the text “Gotta catch ’em all,” and featured mugshots of suspects altered to look like Pokémon cards. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection X account chimed in with an attempt at humor of its own, calling Pikachu “Border Patrol’s newest recruit.”
The tone-deaf video that spliced arrests and raids with a kids cartoon quickly drew ire from Pokémon fans. “Just incredible how this pack of morons keep finding more and more ways to be villainous,” reads one top comment on Reddit.
On X, Pokémon fans hoped for a strong response from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, a rare instance of fans urging in favor of legal action from the notoriously litigious game companies. “We need to channel all of the world’s energy into [Nintendo] and [The Pokémon Company] to sue the FUCKING SHIT out of Homeland Security for unauthorized visual representation!” reads a top response to the DHS post.
Others are pursuing somewhat more direct action, referring Pokémon fans to report the use of Nintendo’s trademarks to its legal team.
The Trump administration has brazenly used copyrighted music from artists who prefer not to be associated with it for many years. In 2024, The White Stripes sued the Trump campaign’s deputy director of communications for using their song “Seven Nation Army” in a video. The band later dropped that suit. The group joined a long list of artists who have issued cease and desist notices or otherwise legally opposed their music being used by Trump, his campaign, and the Republican National Convention to little tangible effect. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Border Patrol posted a propaganda video in June that featured The White Stripes’ “We Are Going to Be Friends” just a few months ago on Instagram.
Whether Pokémon fans’ call to action will have any effect remains to be seen. Polygon has reached out to Nintendo of America and The Pokémon Company for comment on the video and any planned action, and will update this story when the companies respond.
