DHS Pokémon-Themed Video Sparks Viral Backlash

The Department of Homeland Security posted a Pokémon‑themed video on X that spliced anime footage and mock Pokémon trading cards with dramatic immigration-raid footage set to the original Pokémon theme and captioned "Gotta Catch 'Em All." The montage showed doors being blown in, armed squads and cards labeling suspects the "worst of the worst" with an "ice" weakness. The post went viral, drawing more than 24 million views and widespread backlash for turning enforcement into a meme and dehumanizing those arrested; Customs and Border Protection even replied with a dancing Pikachu GIF. Observers and legal experts flagged that some footage appears to be from controversial raids — including ones involving U.S. citizens and officials already facing legal trouble — raising ethical and legal concerns. Many users tagged Nintendo and The Pokémon Company asking whether DHS had permission to use the franchise's music and imagery, while DHS defended the operations as arrests of serious criminals and denounced what it called unfair rhetoric against ICE.