Today, Explained: "The new ICE army"

Date: January 21, 2026
Host: Noel King
Guests: Drew Harwell (Washington Post), Eric Levitz (Vox)
Topic: Inside ICE's massive, controversial new recruiting campaign under the Trump administration, its methods, cultural messaging, and the accusations of white nationalist dog whistles.

Episode Overview

This episode explores the Trump administration’s unprecedentedly large, aggressive, and controversial ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) recruitment campaign. Host Noel King talks with Washington Post tech reporter Drew Harwell, who obtained an internal ICE document detailing their “surge” hiring strategy. The conversation unpacks ICE’s tactics, the concerning messaging and memes, alleged references to white nationalism, and internal dissent. Vox’s Eric Levitz discusses how some of ICE’s public communications echo white nationalist slogans or memes, raising alarm about both deliberate intent and plausible deniability in online government messaging.

Key Discussion Points

1. The Internal Strategy: $100 Million, “Blanket the Internet”

[03:04–06:08]

• Drew Harwell details an internal, confidential ICE document showing a $100 million effort to flood both social media and "real world" advertising with recruiting content.
  • The campaign targets patriotic and machismo themes, using action movie/video game aesthetics and phrases such as "America has been invaded by criminals and predators."
  • “If you’ve gone on social media or on...news websites you’ve seen join.ice.gov. That’s like their portal for getting everybody in.” (Drew Harwell, 03:54)
• Real-world techniques include geo-fencing at events like UFC fights, gun shows, rodeos, and NASCAR races to push tailored ads to those physically present.
  • “If you go to that gun show or that NASCAR race...you’re going to get a targeted ICE advertisement telling you to join the agency.” (Drew Harwell, 05:40)

2. Who is ICE Targeting?

[06:08–07:46]

• ICE seeks “patriots”—self-styled “hardcore border protectors” aligned with a vision of defending America’s way of life.
• The campaign uses Americana and frontier nostalgia, evoking wartime propaganda and “cowboy up” mentalities, with undertones about defending against “foreign invaders.”
  • “They’re really appealing to this idea of frustration at a changing America and wanting to pull in people who want to fight that.” (Drew Harwell, 07:36)

3. ICE and DHS’s Response to Criticism

[07:46–09:18]

• When confronted with the strategy, DHS/ICE refused to confirm the document but boasted about their success—being ahead of schedule, under budget, getting hundreds of thousands of applications, and making thousands of job offers.
  • “...they’re very proud of that. They feel like Americans will support that they have a mandate from the voters to lead this massive deportation operation.” (Drew Harwell, 08:42)
• Internal critique from some ICE staff:
  • Fear that the agency’s aggressive, meme-driven appeal is attracting poorly vetted, dangerous personalities (“anyone with a pulse”—Laura Jadid, 00:22), risking violent outcomes.

4. Public Response and Outrage

[10:35–12:26]

• Pro-Trump/ICE circles cheer the campaign; others are shocked or furious, especially when recruitment ads surface in mainstream digital venues (e.g., Spotify) or are targeted at Spanish-speaking music listeners urging “self-deportation.”
  • “Support your local ICE raid clap emoji.” (Noel King, 10:58)
  • “I am canceling my Spotify subscription because my conscience can no longer support a company that plays ICE recruitment ads.” (Noel King, 11:32)
• Some consumers are organizing boycotts of platforms running ICE ads.

5. The Meme-ification of ICE: Edgelord Culture and Gamification

[12:26–14:25]

• The campaign features “edgelord memes”—dark, 4chan-style jokes flattening deportation into video game tropes (“crack some skulls with your friends” and “destroy the flood” [a Halo reference]).
  • “Want to deport illegals with your absolute boys? Join.ice.gov” (ad in meme, 12:46)
• Some memes use actual images of people being deported, reducing complex immigration realities into good-versus-evil, catchphrase-driven pop culture moments.

Segment: Nazi and White Nationalist Imagery Allegations

[18:04–28:00]

6. Echoes of White Nationalism in Federal Messaging

• Eric Levitz runs through multiple cases where government agencies posted slogans, memes, or imagery evocative of Nazi or white nationalist themes.
  • “One homeland, one people, one heritage. Remember who you are American.” — likened to Hitler’s “one people, one realm, one leader.” (Eric Levitz, 18:33)
  • The “Which way, American man?” recruitment poster is a direct reference to “Which way, Western man?”—a notorious white nationalist book. (Eric Levitz, 19:14)
  • DHS and ICE have also posted lyrics and slogans adopted by groups like the Proud Boys.

7. Plausible Deniability and the Limits of Coincidence

[21:53–23:02]

• Levitz addresses the fine line between legitimate concern and over-interpretation, but emphasizes the sheer volume of incidents and the exclusive vision of American identity they imply.
  • “On the surface...to say that America has only one heritage...seems to me to imply that there’s only one ethnicity in the United States that is truly American...” (Eric Levitz, 24:00)
  • Distinguishes between enforcement of immigration law and casting the entire issue as “defending your culture.”

8. The Role of Online Culture and Insularity

[25:53–28:00]

• The Trump administration has become intensely “online.” Both the president and vice president (J.D. Vance) are immersed in trolling and right-wing memes.
  • “You have this administration that is very intensely immersed in right wing online culture and that makes it, you know, even harder to believe that they don’t recognize...the references that are happening.” (Eric Levitz, 26:41)
• Levitz concludes this tone both harms the country as a multi-ethnic society and undermines the administration’s own interests.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The truth is, they’re taking anyone with a pulse.”
  — Noel King quoting journalist Laura Jadid, [00:22]
• “It just speaks to, to this idea of like your country is being taken from you by, you know, as all these ads show, brown people.”
  — Drew Harwell, [07:28]
• “They’re going on the Internet and basically just saying, hey, if you want to pick up a gun and start shoving people around, you want to join us?”
  — Drew Harwell on internal ICE concerns, [09:12]
• “Want to deport illegals with your absolute boys? Join.ice.gov”
  — Example of an edgelord meme, [12:46]
• “One homeland, one people, one heritage. Remember who you are American.”
  — Quoted by Eric Levitz as echoing Nazi slogans, [18:32]
• “On the surface of it, to say that America has only one heritage seems to me to imply that there’s only one ethnicity in the United States that is truly American…”
  — Eric Levitz, [24:01]
• “Official agencies of the federal government are tweeting out references to white nationalist and neo Nazi works and are accompanying those illusions with links to join ICE.”
  — Eric Levitz, [25:28]

Timeline of Key Segments

• 00:01–02:52: Introduction & overview of the controversy with journalist Laura Jadid's inside experience
• 03:04–07:46: Drew Harwell details ICE recruiting strategy
• 07:46–10:35: ICE/DHS reaction and internal staff backlash
• 10:35–12:26: Public response and targeted advertising fallout
• 12:26–14:25: Edgelord memes and gamification of ICE
• 18:04–28:00: Eric Levitz on white nationalist dog whistles, plausible deniability, and the administration’s online culture

Tone & Style

The episode is factual, at times incredulous or darkly humorous, and deeply critical—particularly toward the recruitment campaign’s extremity and the blurring of boundaries between government messaging and subcultural, even extremist, online humor. The hosts and guests do not shy away from calling out concerning rhetoric, but maintain a reporterly skepticism and attention to nuance, especially around questions of intent and plausible deniability.

Summary for the Uninitiated

This episode unpacks how the Trump administration’s ICE has launched a blockbuster recruiting campaign—casting would-be agents as action heroes defending America against “invaders,” meme-ifying law enforcement, and at times echoing white nationalist language. While the campaign has drawn in thousands of applicants, it’s also provoked outrage, both internally (from uneasy ICE staff) and externally (from outraged consumers and anti-racism watchdogs). The episode concludes with a stark warning: Intentionally or not, the U.S. government may be flirting with a dangerous, exclusionary vision of American identity—one that’s at odds with its own ideals and the diversity of its citizens.