Recruitment or Rhetoric? How ICE Ads Frame Immigration as War

As I have been watching tv lately, I have come across many ICE recruitment ads. The U.S. Immigration

and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has made many recruitment ads using military language, patriotic symbolism,

and bold visuals. One strong example of this features Uncle Sam pointing directly at the viewer with the

words “Join ICE Today” with the promise of a large signing bonus. Another shows a picture of President

Trump saluting the camera with the words “Defend the Homeland, Join ICE Today”. These ads may appear to

be simple recruitment efforts, but the rhetoric and imagery they use communicate much deeper messages

about immigration, national identity, and perceived threats.

The first time I saw these ads I was blown away by how similar they resembled wartime propaganda. The

Uncle Sam image has historically been associated with military enlistment, especially during World War I

with posters urging citizens to “do their duty”. ICE repurposes this imagery to frame immigration

enforcement as a form of national defense rather than bureaucratic or administrative work. These visuals

imply urgency, danger, and the need for protection against an unnamed enemy. These types of ads show

immigration as something we need to fight rather than manage. 

The framing of these ads shapes how audiences understand immigration. Advertisements can frame and

define reality. When immigration enforcement is portrayed using wartime language and imagery, it

encourages people to see immigrants as threats to national security rather than individuals seeking

opportunity or safety. This creates an “us versus them” mindset that leaves little room for empathy andunderstanding. 

The heavy focus on a signing bonus adds another layer to these messages. With the current job insecurity

and economic stress in the US, the adds position ICE as a stable and attractive career option. If you

combine the military visuals with the money, the ads suggest that working for ICE is not only financially

rewarding but heroic. These ads are normalizing the idea that aggressive immigration enforcement is

necessary and even admirable. 

These ads are especially powerful because they appear in everyday spaces like social media feeds, where

people are not actively seeking political content, allowing their messages to be absorbed subconsciously.

Even people with no intention of applying may internalize the idea that immigration is a crisis that

requires force rather than understanding. Overall, ICE recruitment ads show how popular culture operates

rhetorically by using familiar patriotic symbols and war-like imagery to frame immigration as conflict and

enforcement as defense.