"Gotta Catch 'Em All"... U.S. Homeland Security Faces Backlash Over Pok?mon Parody Promo Video

DHS Agents Arresting Immigrants
Juxtaposed with Scenes from Pok?mon

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has sparked controversy by posting a promotional video for immigrant enforcement that uses the popular Japanese animation Pok?mon.

On September 23 (local time), the Department of Homeland Security released a roughly one-minute video on X (formerly Twitter) with the phrase "Gotta Catch 'Em All."

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security parody video of Pok?mon. X

The video uses the Pok?mon theme song as background music and features actual scenes of immigration enforcement. It begins with DHS agents forcibly entering a residence by blowing open the door, followed by scenes of agents arresting immigrants, which are cross-edited with animated sequences.

Notably, toward the end of the video, there are a series of scenes parodying Pok?mon cards. Instead of the original characters, the faces of individuals apprehended and deported by DHS appear on the cards. The cards also list the alleged crimes and sentences of these individuals, such as murder, child sex offenses, and human trafficking.

After viewing the video, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) left a comment featuring Pikachu and the phrase "rookie member of the Border Patrol."

Following the release of the video, criticism has spread over a public agency using another country's intellectual property to depict enforcement activities as a form of "play." Despite the growing controversy, Nintendo, which holds the copyright to Pok?mon, has reportedly not issued an official statement as of the article's publication date.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.