US Department of Homeland Security advertisement asking ‘Mr Singh’ to self-deport kicks off row

WASHINGTON: An advertisement posted by the Department of Homeland Security asking “Mr Singh” to self-deport sparked off a controversy with advocacy groups terming it “racist” and “anti-American”.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used AI-generated imagery on X to push its campaign against unlicensed commercial drivers, featuring a brown-bearded man with a tagline: “Get off our roads, you don’t know how to drive Mr Singh.”

A short video clip in a related post on X shows Megatron, the main antagonist character in the Transformers franchise, negotiating the release of “aliens”-- a term used to describe foreign nationals by the US administration.

Megatron is shown seeking the release of truck drivers Harjinder Singh, Rajinder Kumar, Bekzhan Beishekeev, Akhror Bozorov, and Jasveer Singh, who were involved in road accidents and other crimes.

“If you approach this nation with hostile intent, know this. We will defend ourselves. We will defend Americanism. We will defend our home,” the DHS said in a post on X.

Another post features Optimus Prime, the main protagonist in the Transformers franchise, with a DHS arm patch confronting the brown-bearded man with the message: “Self-deport or find out”.

The reference to “Mr Singh” in the advertisement was criticised by advocacy groups, including the Hindu American Foundation and Sikh Coalition.

“‘Singhs’ are Hindu, they are Sikhs, they are American and they drive. Racist, un-American, anti-Indian profiling/trolling by @DHSgov should shock our nation’s collective conscience,” Hindu American Foundation (HAF) said in a post on X.

“This is a discriminatory post by a federal agency that is far beyond political messaging, and we welcome an investigation,” the HAF said, tagging Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K Dhillon and FBI Director Kash Patel.

“Twenty-five years after 9/11, Sikhs are *still* being targeted and profiled for how we look,” the Sikh Coalition said in a post on X.

“Millions of Sikhs in the United States have the last name Singh, which means lion. We remain fearless in identifying as Sikhs – even when our government portrays us as enemies,” the Sikh Coalition said.

The row comes amid a DHS campaign to promote its CBP Home programme, which allows eligible undocumented migrants to register their intention to leave the United States voluntarily.

Those registering for self-deportation can receive travel assistance and an exit bonus of USD 2,600, according to the DHS.