A conservative group is launching what it claims to be a multimillion-dollar ad campaign meant to convince the American public that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is to be trusted, despite its recent history of abuse, corruption, and extrajudicial killings.
The group, American Sovereignty, gave Fox News an exclusive first look at two new ads that it said will soon air. The ads are slated to run in Michigan, North Carolina, and Georgia—all states with crucial Senate elections this year—and Washington, D.C.
An immigration agent sprays pepper spray directly into the eyes of a protester in Minneapolis on Jan. 24.
Notably, no American Sovereignty officials are actually quoted in the story, and Fox doesn’t explain who is leading or bankrolling the group. Similarly, its official website doesn’t have any identifying information, just a form to sign up for emails.
In the past, nonprofits and political action committees have been used to disguise donations from wealthy donors like billionaire Elon Musk, but so far no conservative financiers have been directly connected to American Sovereignty.
One of the ads, labeled “Patriots,” seeks to portray ICE agents as “friends and neighbors” and “little league coaches and veterans.”
The ad also describes ICE officials as “sons” and “fathers,” subtly sending the message that the group doesn’t believe that women are capable of being operatives.
The stock footage of ICE agents with their arms folded and faces shown stands in stark contrast to the images Americans have seen as they’ve terrorized U.S. cities. ICE has attracted condemnation and ridicule for violently detaining people while masked to obscure their identities.
Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos is detained by ICE agents after arriving home from preschool on Jan. 20.
The ad describes ICE’s mission as “removing violent criminals,” echoing the excuses offered up by the Trump administration. But in reality, ICE has harassed nonviolent people—including legal and undocumented immigrants, veterans, Native Americans, and children.
When ICE isn’t arresting people, agents have been tear-gassing, assaulting, and even killing people in the streets, including a mother and a nurse—both U.S. citizens—in Minnesota.
At one point in the ad, photos of the 9/11 hijackers are shown to emphasize ICE’s purported ability to combat crime. But, of course, the hijackers were legally in the United States and able to pull off their mission of mass murder.
Multiple public opinion polls have recently shown that public sentiment has soured against ICE as abuses and killings increase. Some glossy right-wing propaganda campaign is unlikely to change that.
