Throughout Donald Trump’s second term, the United States government has funded, produced, and promoted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recruitment advertisement.

“Attention Law Enforcement,” begins the anonymous narrator, whose words are projected in stark red, white, and blue. “You took an oath to protect and serve. To keep your family, your neighborhood safe. But in too many cities, dangerous illegals walk free as police are forced to stand down. Join ICE and help us catch the worst of the worst: drug traffickers, gang members, predators. Join the mission to protect America with bonuses up to $50,000, student loan forgiveness, and generous benefits. Apply now… and fulfill your mission.”

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This might be the mission of some interested ICE recruits, but it is far from the reality of the Trump administration’s mission for ICE.

A snake in the White House

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In the United States, all TV and radio advertisements are required to undergo a process in which the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rates the ads in three primary categories based on FTC Law:

• Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive;
• Advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims; and
• Advertisements cannot be unfair.

These requirements apply to both expressed and implied claims, including information omitted from the advertisements but that still impact the “product” being sold.

If, however, the advertisement does not satisfy all these conditions, and if FTC is doing its work effectively in the public interest, the ad will not appear on the airwaves unless the sponsors make the necessary changes.

Propaganda, on the other hand, is defined as “information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a particular cause, doctrine, or point of view.”

The ICE ad can be classified as “propaganda” since it fails to adhere to the FTC Law on several counts, including truthfulness, non-deception, and the omission of information.

Contrary to the assertion that people should “Join ICE and help us catch the worst of the worst: drug traffickers, gang members, predators,” the facts on the ground clearly show that law abiding people, including very young children and hard-working neighbors (some who have started small businesses, some working in industries where most U.S. citizens choose not to enter, most who have served their communities well) are being beaten, rounded up, terrorized, traumatized, and even shot and killed by a gang of government thugs known as ICE.

Trump officials have ordered unidentified and masked (primarily) men to act in ways that contradict the president’s promise to arrest undocumented immigrants who have committed criminal offences.

ICE officers have arrested, detained, and disappeared people who have not committed crimes, and have often transported them to U.S. locations far from their homes and deported others to foreign authoritarian countries not of their birth without due process of law.

“The worst of the worst” indeed. But the phrase refers not to the undocumented people under surveillance and arrest. It refers instead to the ICE agency, itself, which has lowered its hiring standards and provided new recruits with a severely reduced training program. They are then placed in unfamiliar geographic locations, where they are separated from local law enforcement officials.

Secretary of Homeland Security (a misnomer if there ever was one) Kristi Noem released her own alleged “public service announcement,” which only continues the deceptive advertising of the “recruitment” ad: “I’m Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security,” began the proudly admitted dog and goat murderer.

“Thank you Donald J. Trump for securing our border; for deporting criminal, illegal immigrants and for putting America first. President Trump has a clear message for all those who 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 border wide open.”

This lie that other politicians, including former Presidents Obama and Biden, “Left our border wide open,” should provide the FTC sufficient evidence to ban the ad from public airwaves.

President Obama deported upwards of 400,000 undocumented immigrants each year he was in office – and was roundly criticized for it. He worked with local police forces to identify people with criminal records, though he did not engage in political theater like Trump.

ICE officers during the Obama and Biden administrations were, for the most part, well qualified, better trained, did not wear face masks, wore clearly identified uniforms, and carried body cameras with a fraction of the funding and staffing.  

“They flooded our communities with drugs, human trafficking and violent criminals,” continued Noem, referring to past politicians. “They put American lives at risk. Well, those days are over. If you leave now, you may have an opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American dream.”

This last point about going through legal channels to return to the U.S. is not realistic. The process is too long and expensive for most people who are seeking emergency refugee status.

“But understand this,” concluded Noem, “under President Trump, America’s borders are closed to lawbreakers. Follow the law, and you will find opportunity. Break it, and you will find consequences. The choice is yours. America welcomes those who respect our laws because a strong nation is a safe nation.”

If Noem’s final point were true, we would not have a felon sitting in the Oval Office. The hypocrisy and projection are stunning.

Authoritarians base their power on fear, government-regulated propaganda campaigns, and domination of all key institutions. This all happens under a typically charismatic leader.

“Might makes right” is the ideological underpinning of the Trump administration. Lies, cruelty, and strength of force are the means; total power and control are the ends.

To put it bluntly, large segments of the current Republican Party have eagerly consumed the snake oil the orange-headed White House puppet has concocted. This segment of the population has purchased the poison for the one-time non-refundable price of their souls.

Ingredients mixed with the oil of snake by the conniving brew master include undiluted and massive amounts of patriarchal neo-national Christian white supremacy with equal parts of all other forms of oppression and subjugation, plus low information, alternative “facts,” deception, deceit, diversion, division, psychological projection, narcissism, social pathology, grievance politics, demands for loyalty and sabotage of world alliances, vilification of people attempting to escape violence and poverty in their native lands, demonization of the “other,” and other toxic substances the Food and Drug Administration would (hopefully) never approve for human consumption.

Like zombies, the users lose all capacity for critical thinking, reason and logic. They can no longer question the master puppet and his creators. They squander their ability to differentiate truth from exaggerations and lies, as well as right from wrong.

Under the Trump administration, lies and omissions are simply not sufficient for the FTC to restrict obviously deceptive advertising from being publicly broadcast.  

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