'Transformers Were Aliens Too': Social Media Reacts To Trump Administration's Racist Poster Targeting Indian Drivers

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The US Department of Homeland Security 's (DHS) latest immigration enforcement campaign has triggered a backlash online after it used the surname "Singh" alongside a brown, bearded man in a Transformers-style poster.

The digital advertisement, posted by the DHS on X, features a character resembling Optimus Prime with a DHS patch confronting a man identified as "Mr Singh". The message reads: "Get off our roads, you don't know how to drive, Mr Singh."

The poster is part of the Trump administration 's wider campaign encouraging undocumented migrants to voluntarily leave the US, promoted under the slogan "Self-deport or find out".

The campaign has drawn criticism from advocacy groups and social-media users, who accused DHS of using racial and religious stereotypes in its immigration messaging.

'Singhs are Hindu, Sikh and American'

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) criticised the DHS post, saying the use of the surname Singh risks stereotyping a large community.

"'Singhs' are Hindu, they are Sikhs, they are American and they drive," the organisation said in a post on X, calling the DHS post "racist, un-American, anti-Indian profiling/trolling".

HAF also called for an investigation, saying the post went beyond political messaging and was discriminatory.

The Sikh Coalition similarly criticised the campaign, saying Sikhs continued to face targeting and profiling based on their appearance.

"Millions of Sikhs in the United States have the last name Singh," the organisation said, adding that Sikhs remained "fearless in identifying as Sikhs" even when portrayed as enemies by their government.

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One of the most repeated reactions online focused on the choice of Transformers as the theme of the campaign.

"Autobots were aliens btw," one user wrote.

Another said: "Optimus Prime is himself an alien."

Others mocked what they saw as the irony of using an extraterrestrial character to represent the US while portraying immigrants as "aliens".

"It's hilarious using the 'Transformers' for this image when in fact they were illegal aliens to Earth," another user posted.

Another comment read: "So your saying your department are aliens from another planet and are here to report aliens from this planet..."

The references point to the fact that the Transformers characters are extraterrestrial beings in the franchise.

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Several users objected specifically to the suggestion that a person identified as "Mr Singh" was being portrayed as a dangerous or incompetent driver.

"What is this? How can you make such a racist and unfair assumption about an entire community?" one user wrote, arguing that the actions of a few individuals should not be attributed to all people with the surname Singh.

Another user said the campaign could encourage people to associate anyone with a South Asian appearance with illegal immigration.

"The public will start reporting every brown, yellow and black as illegal aliens," the user wrote, arguing that DHS needed to be more responsible with its advertising.

Another commenter described the post as "outright racism" and questioned whether the US government should be using such imagery.

'Twenty-five years after 9/11'

The Sikh Coalition linked the controversy to a longer history of profiling of Sikhs in the US.

"Twenty-five years after 9/11, Sikhs are still being targeted and profiled for how we look," the organisation said.

The coalition said millions of Sikhs have the surname Singh, which means "lion", and criticised the portrayal of the community as enemies.

The Hindu American Foundation also questioned whether companies associated with the Transformers franchise were comfortable with the use of the characters in the DHS campaign.

What is the DHS campaign about?

The controversy comes as the Trump administration promotes its CBP Home programme, which allows eligible undocumented migrants to register their intention to leave the US voluntarily.

According to the material supplied by DHS, those who register for self-deportation can receive travel assistance and an exit bonus of $2,600.

DHS has also shared an AI-generated video featuring Megatron, another Transformers character, in which the character negotiates the release of several people described by the department as "aliens".

The department has linked the campaign to enforcement actions against immigrant truck drivers involved in road accidents and other crimes.

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