A new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holiday-themed advertisement features Santa Claus as an immigration agent.
The video, addressing illegal immigrants in the country, shows a man dressed as Santa Claus wearing the traditional red coat, hat, and white beard.
Instead of the usual gifts, the ICE Santa carries weapons around the waist of his bulletproof vest.
Highlights
- ICE released a holiday ad featuring Santa as an immigration agent urging illegal immigrants to self-deport with a $3,000 incentive.
- The DHS tripled the self-deportation incentive, offering $3,000 plus free flights to voluntary deportees through the end of 2025.
- DHS Secretary Kristi Noem warned illegal immigrants refusing to self-deport will be arrested, removed, and barred from return.
The video shows the Santa wearing an ICE badge as he arrests undocumented migrants on the street with the help of other officers.
A new ICE video features Santa encouraging illegal immigrants to self-deport
Image credits: ICEgov/X
Later in the video, Santa processes the migrant at a detention facility before escorting him onto a plane for deportation. The ad urges undocumented immigrants to “avoid Santa’s naughty list” by choosing to leave the country voluntarily.
A caption accompanying the video reads, “AVOID ICE AIR AND SANTA'S NAUGHTY LIST! Self-deport today with the CBP Home app, earn $3,000 and spend Christmas at home with loved ones.”
The caption also states that the holiday incentive will remain valid through the end of 2025.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that the self-deportation stipend has been tripled as part of this holiday campaign. The program offers $3,000 and a free flight to people who agree to leave the U.S. voluntarily by the end of the year.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said those who refuse to self-deport will face arrest and removal and will not be allowed to return.
“Illegal aliens should take advantage of this gift and self-deport,” she said on Monday. “If they don't, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return.”
The Trump administration launched a rebranded version of the CBP Home app in March to simplify the self-deportation process. The app replaced CBP One, which the Biden administration previously used to allow migrants to enter the country legally.
According to the DHS, arresting, detaining, and deporting one undocumented immigrant costs an average of $17,000. Officials say self-deportation saves money and resources.
According to Equis, DHS has spent $2.8 million on Meta to reach both English- and Spanish-speaking audiences. The DHS spent nearly $3 million on Google and YouTube, aimed at only Spanish-speaking people, to promote self-deportation.
President Donald Trump returned to office in January after promising record levels of deportations. His administration has deported about 622,000 immigrants this year, including many who chose to self-deport.
The administration says it aims to deport a million people annually.
The ad follows a $3,000 incentive for immigrants
Image credits: ICEgov/X
Congress approved a major funding package in July that provides ICE and Border Patrol with $170 billion in additional funding through September 2029, bypassing their current annual budgets of about $19 billion.
Officials also removed temporary legal status from large numbers of Haitian, Venezuelan, and Afghan immigrants, expanding the pool of people who can be deported.
White House border czar Tom Homan said deportation numbers will rise sharply next year as enforcement expands. Federal raids have largely avoided economically important businesses like farms that are known to employ immigrants without legal status.
Image credits: ICEgov/X
The immigration crackdown has sparked political backlash in some areas. Miami recently elected its first Democratic mayor in nearly 30 years, with local leaders citing immigration enforcement as a key issue.
In addition, Trump saw the lowest approval rating in his second term. His approval rating on immigration policy fell from 50% in March to 41% in mid-December, a Quinnipiac University poll showed.