Published: October 6, 2025
Recently, the official account of The White House posted a TikTok of an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation video using the famous Pokémon theme song, “Gotta Catch ‘Em All.” Between real video clips of the Department of Homeland Security raiding homes and handcuffing alleged undocumented immigrants, the TikTok displays clips of Ash Ketchum, the protagonist of Pokémon, throwing pokeballs. At the end of the video, they displayed various Pokémon cards photoshopped with alleged undocumented immigrants’ faces in place of Pokémon. These cards listed their nationality, alleged crimes, and full government names. The same video was posted on the official Homeland Security account on X, formerly known as Twitter
Pokémon Company International was quick to issue a statement addressing the video. They claim to have no involvement in the creation of the content and expressed that they had not granted any permission for their content to be used. Despite this, the videos remain posted on both platforms, and as of now, no legal action has been taken. Currently, the only response was from a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson who made a further reference to the Pokémon theme song by stating, “to arrest them is our real test. To deport them is our cause.”
The video, which was presumably posted to gain the support of young people, is currently sitting at fifteen million views on TikTok, with plenty of backlash. Many commenters have voiced their shock or disapproval of the “cross-over,” urging Nintendo and Pokémon to pursue legal action and sue.
Similarly, just one day apart, the Department of Homeland Security used a clip of the popular podcaster Theo Von without permission for ICE deportation content. The voice clip, “heard you got deported dude, bye,” was used as the intro of a deportation video posted on the Department of Homeland Security’s official X account. The podcaster Von was also quick to post on X, claiming that he did not approve for his content to be used by the Department of Homeland Security. Additionally, he asked for the video to be taken down entirely, stating “I know you know my address so send a check.” The video, which reached a million views, is no longer posted on X.
