Overview

• Posted Sept. 22 on X, Instagram, and Facebook, the one-minute video intercuts ICE and Border Patrol arrest footage with the Pokémon intro and ends with mocked-up trading cards labeling arrestees the “worst of the worst.”
• The post amassed tens of millions of views within a day, CBP replied with a dancing Pikachu GIF, and DHS reposted the content while parodying the show’s lyrics.
• Nintendo and The Pokémon Company did not respond to requests for comment on whether DHS had permission to use the IP, and a former Pokémon Company legal chief said he expects the company will likely avoid litigation.
• Civil-rights advocates and online critics condemned the tone and highlighted a disputed clip of a door blast at a home with U.S. citizens; DHS said no U.S. citizen was arrested and that people were briefly detained for safety during the operation.
• DHS officials defended the enforcement actions, saying agents targeted sexual predators, human traffickers, robbers, and gang members, and shared examples of recent arrests featured on the mock cards.