The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has removed a controversial social media post that asked “Mr Singh” to self-deport after it triggered strong criticism from Indian-American and Sikh advocacy groups, as well as Democratic leaders.
The DHS had used AI-generated Transformers-style imagery on X as part of its campaign against unlicensed commercial drivers.
One of the posts featured a brown, bearded man identified as “Mr Singh” with the message: “Get off our roads, you don’t know how to drive Mr Singh.” Another related post carried the warning: “Self-deport or find out.”
The campaign quickly sparked accusations of racial profiling and stereotyping.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office condemned the post, while Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi also criticised the use of a common Sikh surname in government messaging.
Advocacy organisations including the Hindu American Foundation, Sikh Coalition and Coalition of Hindus of North America also objected to the campaign.
The Hindu American Foundation argued that government agencies should enforce the law without caricaturing entire communities, while the Sikh Coalition said the imagery revived concerns about Sikhs being targeted because of their appearance.
Following the backlash, the controversial post was removed. Indian-American advocacy groups welcomed the decision, while maintaining that taking down the post was only the first step and calling for greater accountability over racially sensitive government messaging.
The controversy was part of a broader DHS social media campaign using characters inspired by the Transformers franchise.
A related video depicted Megatron seeking the release of several foreign-national truck drivers involved in serious traffic incidents and other alleged offences.
Another image showed Optimus Prime wearing DHS insignia while confronting the same brown-bearded figure.
Hasbro, the company behind the Transformers franchise, later said it had not authorised the use of its characters in the campaign and distanced itself from the DHS material.
The row comes amid the Trump administration’s broader immigration enforcement campaign and promotion of the CBP Home programme, which allows eligible undocumented migrants to register their intention to leave the United States voluntarily.
According to DHS information cited in multiple reports, participants may receive travel assistance and an exit bonus of $2,600.
The dispute has now shifted beyond immigration enforcement itself to the way federal agencies communicate such policies, with critics arguing that the use of ethnic surnames and racialised imagery risks casting suspicion on entire communities rather than focusing on individual violations.
