ICE Deletes Post About Stopping ‘Illegal Ideas’ From Crossing Border

S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) quickly deleted a social media post Thursday that claimed that its mission is not just to keep out illegal immigrants, money, and products, but “ideas” as well.

Appearing as the latest tough-on-immigration social media post from the Trump administration, the graphic stated: “If it crosses the U.S. border illegally, it’s our job to stop it”.

The post sparked confusion on X, formerly Twitter, with several immigration and law experts asking what counted as an “illegal idea”, as it was reshared widely over the space of a few hours.

The Department of Homeland Security told Newsweek the post was made in error.

“That post was sent without proper approval and should not have been shared,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs, said in a statement. “‘Ideas’ should have said ‘intellectual property’.”

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The post, shared on X and Instagram Thursday, was touting the agency’s powers to enforce “400+ federal laws to ensure public safety and national security”.

While ICE can seek to remove an individual from the U.S. if they entered the country illegally, overstayed a visa, or committed certain crimes, it is not able to do so over a person expressing an opinion or viewpoint, which the post appeared to target.

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