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Trump Administration Celebrates Halloween With ICE Detaining Migrants, U.S. Army Posts
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ICE posted Halloween videos depicting migrant detentions and deaths of foreign enemies. Video on X used Michael Jackson's Thriller soundtrack.
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Halloween videos and threats
The government of Donald Trump celebrated Halloween by releasing videos that celebrated the detention of migrants and the death of foreign "enemies" by the hands of the United States Army, with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) posting a one-minute video on X set to Michael Jackson's hit “Thriller.”
The Department of Defense announced "Lurking behind America’s enemies" on X in another Halloween post, and the post mixed missile launches and troops in action with excerpts of Trump promising to kill drug traffickers.
The FBI published an animated video with a caricature of its director, Kash Patel, adapting the lyrics of “Thriller” to highlight statistics about what it described as a crime rate drop.
The White House and Trump himself frequently published provocative content on social media to inflame the anger of their critics, and one post from the President’s account said: “Where to, American man? America needs you: join ICE now,” accompanied by an image of Uncle Sam, personification of the United States, deciding which path to take.
ICE, FBI, and Pentagon clips
ICE posted the Halloween video on X with horror movie icons before showing images of arrests and migrants in detention, and the captions included “this guy was wanted for homicide.” The video’s framing matched the description that it was set to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” and the caption read: “Happy Halloween from your friends at ICE!”
The FBI’s animated “Thriller” video featured a caricature of its director, Kash Patel, and it adapted the lyrics to highlight statistics about what it described as a fall in crime. The Department of Defense also shared a monochrome video that blended scenes of missile launches and troops in action with clips of Trump promising to kill drug traffickers, and it included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth swearing to kill anyone who kills Americans.
Criticism and election timing
Critics focused on the Trump administration’s Halloween posts on social media ahead of the midterm elections, with the videos sparking criticism due to incendiary rhetoric against immigrants. The posts included an ICE video on X mixing drawings, monsters, clowns, and pumpkin imagery with footage of detentions and the removal of irregular migrants, and the lyrics said: "You hear the door slam hard and realize there is nowhere left to escape to, you feel that icy hand and wonder if you will see the sun again."
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins posted on X a photo of a Black man standing in front of piles of what appears to be U.S. currency, with the caption "A scammer in the food assistance program," and the caption added: "Some costumes have a price; this outfit carries a prison sentence." The administration’s broader campaign also included intensified anti-immigrant rhetoric and fraud-related accusations, including against Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, whose home in Washington, D.C., was searched by federal agents in October of last year.