Critics are calling out President Donald Trump and the Department of Homeland Security for a controversial social media post that threatens to deport millions of people, including potentially millions of American citizens.
The agency shared an image on social media depicting a vintage car on a beach with the words “America After 100 Million Deportations” emblazoned across it.
Accompanying the image, the agency wrote, “The peace of a nation no longer besieged by the third world.” This image is a detail from the painting “Impender Beach” by Japanese pop artist Hiroshi Nagai.
It is unclear whether Nagai authorized the use of his work in this context or if he is even aware of the social media message. The agency first posted the image on Wednesday afternoon, then reposted it a few hours later.
During his 2024 campaign, Trump made repeated promises to deport millions of individuals. However, the idea of deporting 100 million people extends beyond just undocumented immigrants. According to the Pew Research Center, there were 14 million undocumented migrants in the U.S. in 2023, along with nearly 38 million individuals who have legal status, including naturalized citizens.
This totals approximately 52 million foreign-born residents, which is still 48 million short of the figure mentioned in the DHS social media post.
