'Leave now': Trump admin runs ads telling immigrants to self-deport or face 'consequences'

17 February

Under President Donald Trump's second administration, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is now running ads online encouraging immigrants to deport themselves.

On Monday night, Prism News reporter Tina Vasquez posted a link to a video by the DHS' official YouTube account, in which DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is seen delivering a message directly to immigrants that if they are undocumented, they need to leave "or they will be hunted down and deported." The DHS explained in the video's description that the Noem ad is part of a "multimillion-dollar ad campaign" in which the video will be "hyper-targeted, including through social media, text message and digital" to reach immigrants both in the U.S. and abroad.

"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," Noem said. "If you leave now, you may have an opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American Dream."

"Under President Trump, America's borders are closed to lawbreakers," she added. "Follow the law, and you'll find opportunity. Break it, and you'll find consequences. The choice is yours."

Noem's video was quickly met with mockery, derision and ridicule on Bluesky. University of Oklahoma sociology professor Ian Carrillo likened the ad to "if Birth of a Nation was an anti-immigrant DHS video," in reference to the 1915 pro-Ku Klux Klan propaganda film. Immigrant rights advocate Gabe Ortiz opined that Noem's "soft filter can't hide the ugly." And Colorado-based immigration lawyer Aaron Hall reminded his followers that Noem's promise that immigrants who self-deport may be able to return is untrue, as they would "be ten-year-barred by 212(a)(9)(B)."

"What a waste," wrote Louisiana Tech University assistant political science professor Mike Habegger.

Watch the video below, or by clicking this link.

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