Kristi Noem at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 14, 2024 (Maxim Elramsisy/ Shutterstock.com)
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is reportedly this year’s biggest political ad spender, pouring tens of millions into spots that praise President Donald Trump and tell undocumented immigrants to leave the country.
Axios reported that while Homeland Security “disputes that its ads are political,” it has “spent at least $51 million this year on ads thanking President Trump for securing the border, according to AdImpact.”
Fox News Channel is the largest host of the ads, airing about $9 million worth of them so far.
The DHS ads are part of a larger $200 million contract pushing “self-deportation,” and promoting “Trump’s mass deportation agenda in a series of direct-to-camera videos starring the face of the policy, Secretary Kristi Noem.”
Three of the ads say, “Thank you, President Donald J. Trump for securing our border and putting America first.”
In one, titled, “WARNING,” Secretary Noem says, “President Trump has a clear message for those that are in our country illegally. Leave now. If you don’t, we will find you and we will deport you. You will never return.”
“For too long, weak politicians left our borders wide open,” Noem continued, appearing to blame Democrats without mentioning any party. “They flooded our communities with drugs. Human trafficking and violent criminals. They put American lives at risk.”
“If you leave now, you may have an opportunity to return, and enjoy our freedom, and live the American dream,” Noem said. “But understand this. Under President Trump, America’s borders are closed to law breakers. Follow the law, and you’ll find opportunity. Break it, and you’ll find consequences.”
Axios noted that “‘President Trump’ is the most mentioned phrase across all the ads.”
The two companies that created the ads did so by “bypassing the usual bidding process. DHS cited a[n] ‘unusual and compelling urgency’ to quickly award the contract.”
Separately, Secretary Noem is under fire for a DHS video in which she specifically blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown and its impacts on the TSA. Some airports across the country have refused to play the video, the Associated Press reported.
Critics blasted the spending.
“Using your tax dollars for political propaganda” wrote U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE).
“Your tax dollars and mine are being used to thank President Trump. That’s right, the biggest political ad spender of 2025 is DHS using your money,” noted The Bulwark’s Sarah Longwell.
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