Bulwark Takes: "America’s Deportation Obsession, Caught on Tape"

Host: Sam Stein (Bulwark Managing Editor)
Guest: Drew Harwell (Washington Post)
Date: February 24, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the viral story of comedian Ben Palmer, who set up a fake ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) deportation tip line as a form of social experiment and satire, only to reveal the disturbing zeal with which ordinary Americans attempt to report suspected undocumented immigrants. Hosted by Sam Stein, with guest Drew Harwell, the Washington Post tech reporter who broke the story, the conversation explores the uncomfortable realities exposed by Palmer's prank—including the motivations, confessions, and chilling attitudes of callers, as well as the broader implications for American society’s approach to immigration.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Genesis of the Story

• Drew Harwell discovered Ben Palmer’s work procrastinating on TikTok, stumbling upon the now-viral call featuring a kindergarten teacher ([02:11]).
  • “He lays out the premise, like, right off the jump...he says, I created this fake guy's tip line. People call me, they think I'm legitimate.” — Drew Harwell [02:15]
• Palmer, a Nashville-based comedian with a history of culture-centric pranks, took a political turn with this project, not anticipating the darkness it would uncover ([03:00], [03:26]).

2. How the Fake ICE Tip Line Works

• Palmer's websites mimic official government pages but never state direct affiliation, leaving enough ambiguity for people to fall for the ruse ([04:36]–[05:46]).
  • “If you search for different phrases like that, it's on, like, the first page of Google.” — Drew Harwell [04:46]
  • “He's like an SEO master here.” — Sam Stein [04:58]
• Callers find the site by actively Googling how to report undocumented immigrants, with Palmer deadpanning as a government official and letting people fill in the blanks ([05:46]).

3. Motivations and Unintended Revelations

• Palmer’s intent began as comedic satire and a challenge, probing what Americans really say when they think the government is listening ([06:31]).
  • “He just thought it would be a good bit...to flush out a lot of people who would be talking very candidly in an interesting way.” — Drew Harwell [06:34]
• The responses, however, turned out to be revealingly dark, with real-life confessions that exposed underlying prejudice and paranoia in society ([07:55]–[10:36]).

4. Examples of Calls Received

• Suspicious Neighbor: A woman reports her neighbor due to packages and presence of “brown people”—exposing the thin rationale sometimes used to justify suspicion ([07:31]).
  • “Basically what it ends up being is the person sees a brown person in their neighborhood...and they kind of find the justification afterward.” — Drew Harwell [07:55]
• The Publix Encounter: A shopper tries to report someone who couldn’t speak English but actually helped her find a water fountain ([08:19]).
  • “They helped you with exactly what you wanted and you're responding by trying to support them.” — Sam Stein [08:45]
• The Kindergarten Teacher: The most viral call—a teacher reports a 5- or 6-year-old student’s parents, knowing only they’re from Honduras/El Salvador and don’t speak English ([09:04]):
  • Palmer guides the caller through her logic, revealing the chilling implications of her motivations; as the call progresses, she realizes “you’re making me sound so terrible” ([09:40]).
  • “All the commenters are like, no, he's just kind of holding up a mirror to you.” — Drew Harwell [09:53]
  • Harwell later spoke to the teacher, who declined to comment; the child was born in New York and is a citizen, with no evidence the parents are undocumented ([09:20]–[10:36]).

5. Psychology of Reporting & Social Experimentation

• Many callers appear to treat government agencies as personal enforcers for their own grievances ([11:07–11:44]).
  • “He was surprised...how much people thought of the government as their own personal army.” — Drew Harwell [11:26]
• The experiment reveals “prejudice hotline” attitudes—cold and transactional perspectives regarding the fates of real families ([13:59]).

6. Ethical & Sociological Implications

• Palmer is hesitant to publicize details, knowing the ethics of deception and privacy at play. Harwell, as a journalist, notes the line between reporting and pranking—this exposes raw sentiment that would not otherwise surface ([15:03]–[16:15]).
  • “As a journalist, it's not something we would ever do...but you're not going to get that kind of raw answer from people outside of this kind of setup.” — Drew Harwell [15:50]
• The host and guest underscore the uniquely revealing nature of this “social experiment,” one that journalism can document, but not actively perform ([16:15]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “He lays out the premise, like, right off the jump...I created this fake guy's tip line. People call me, they think I'm legitimate.”
  — Drew Harwell [02:15]
• “They helped you with exactly what you wanted and you're responding by trying to support them.”
  — Sam Stein [08:45]
• “When people will submit a report and call him...they would never be saying that to a comedian if they really knew.”
  — Drew Harwell [05:31]
• “All the commenters are like, no, he's just kind of holding up a mirror to you.”
  — Drew Harwell [09:53]
• “He was surprised going into this how much people thought of the government as their own personal army.”
  — Drew Harwell [11:26]
• “It was just a prejudice hotline basically and was really disturbed by how cold people could be on the phone talking about shipping people away.”
  — Drew Harwell [14:01]
• “As a journalist, it's not something we would ever do...but you're not going to get that kind of raw answer from people outside of this kind of setup.”
  — Drew Harwell [15:50]

Important Timestamps

• [02:11] — Harwell describes discovering Ben Palmer’s TikTok account and the now-infamous teacher call.
• [03:26] — Palmer’s comedic background and the shift to immigration-related material.
• [04:36] — Explanation of how the fake tip line duped callers; website structure and SEO tricks.
• [07:31] — Overview of the types of calls received, starting with suspicious neighbors.
• [09:04] — The detailed retelling of the kindergarten teacher call and its viral impact.
• [11:07] — Palmer’s reflections on people using the government as a “personal army.”
• [13:59] — Palmer’s changed outlook after the experiment; the “prejudice hotline” effect.
• [15:03] — Ethical tensions for both Palmer and Harwell; journalist and prankster boundaries.

Conclusion

This episode reveals, through real audio and candid discussion, the unsettling depths of anti-immigrant sentiment in America—brought to light by an unintended social experiment. Drew Harwell’s reporting exposes how easily suspicion, prejudice, and anonymous reporting can spiral, and how technological savvy (and dark comedy) can unmask the unvarnished beliefs people might otherwise keep hidden. The story raises hard questions about the American conversation on immigration and the institutions—both real and satirical—that enable it.