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Kinkade Estate Prepares Legal Challenge as DHS Stands By Unauthorized Art Posts

Creators are demanding removal of their works after DHS paired idealized paintings with hardline deportation messaging.

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 21: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference in New York following the weekend shooting of an off-duty Customs and Border Protection officer by an illegal migrant on July 21, 2025 in New York City. The off-duty officer was reportedly struck in the face and forearm in Manhattan’s Riverside Park on Saturday night by Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, a Dominican national who entered the country illegally. Noem has blamed sanctuary cities and their policies on immigration for the crime. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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Overview

  • The Kinkade Family Foundation has sent a cease-and-desist and is consulting counsel to sue over the use of Thomas Kinkade’s “Morning Pledge” without permission.
  • DHS continues to host paintings by Morgan Weistling, John Gast and Edward Percy Morgan, asserting it is “unapologetically proud” of celebrating American heritage.
  • Social media posts feature idealized frontier and settler imagery bookended by memes and videos lauding the administration’s deportation campaign.
  • Far-right activists and GOP figures including Jack Posobiec, Benny Johnson, Matt Gaetz, Madison Cawthorn and Mayra Flores have amplified the artwork, generating millions of views.
  • Copyright specialists warn DHS may face multiple infringement claims after using protected paintings and film audio without securing rights.