‘Is this for real?’: DHS posts a disturbing video of Santa as an ICE agent, asks people to avoid his ‘naughty list’

In Trump’s America, a federal agency humiliating vulnerable families is now a Christmas greeting. Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security just said “happy holidays” with a video of militarized Santa and handcuffs. It can’t get worse than this.

On Monday night, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sold deportation with a Christmas branding. The official DHS account posted a holiday-themed video on social media showing a buff Santa Claus in a red tactical vest labeled “ICE.” Santa’s new Christmas task is detaining undocumented people on the streets, apparently.

And the caption was even worse than the clip:

“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. Holiday incentive is valid through the end of 2025.”

Yes, that’s the post. “Avoid ICE air” like it’s a budget airline you accidentally booked. The clip shows Santa carrying out ICE “duties” and cuffing a migrant, while pushing people toward “self-deportation” using the CBP Home app. They even promised a cash “exit bonus” as if it were a supermarket deal.

Santa Claus is an ICE agent for DHS now

Before you think it was some weird intern’s draft tweet that slipped through, the video was posted to both DHS’s X and Instagram accounts. Kristi Noem also publicly promoted the same holiday incentive; $3,000 for “illegal aliens” who leave voluntarily by Dec. 31, 2025.

The department described the incentive as “tripling” the previous offer, suggesting people should take “advantage” of this “gift.” But that message followed a backhanded threat:

Illegal aliens should take advantage of this gift and self-deport because if they don’t, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will not return.

What the DHS is basically saying is, “Merry Christmas. Here’s Santa with cuffs. And here’s your ‘bonus’ to disappear.” People online reacted exactly how they should have. One said, “Cruelty has always been the point.” Another added, “This is so deranged. The Grinch in Chief strikes again.”

Cutting through the cosplay, one user reminded, “Isn’t Christmas supposed to be a holiday that celebrates the teachings of Jesus Christ?” For an administration that keeps selling itself as the “family values” crowd, rolling out a state-produced intimidation clip seems counterintuitive. But that’s the Trump administration for you.

Santa Claus is a cultural symbol associated with generosity, care for children, and moral judgment. But the DHS reimagined him as an armed enforcer of deportation policy instead. On a happy day like Christmas, the department thought it was best to terrorize communities as a greeting.