Overview

• Posted on Sept. 22 with the caption “Gotta Catch ’Em All,” the video splices ICE and Border Patrol raid footage with the Pokémon intro and ends with mock trading cards of arrestees listing alleged crimes.
• By Tuesday the post had amassed more than 24 million views, and Customs and Border Protection replied on X with a dancing Pikachu GIF calling it the Border Patrol’s “newest recruit.”
• DHS officials defended the operations, describing those arrested as violent offenders and the “worst of the worst,” while criticizing what they called dangerous rhetoric targeting agents.
• Legal and civil-rights advocates challenged the legality of a featured raid, alleging a door was blown in at a home with U.S. citizens who were not shown a warrant, a claim DHS disputed while saying no U.S. citizen was arrested.
• It remains unclear whether DHS obtained permission to use Pokémon music and imagery, and Nintendo and The Pokémon Company had not issued public statements despite media inquiries.