A controversial video titled ‘ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight’ was shared on The White House X handle. In the 41-second video, people termed as ‘illegal immigrants’ are seen being frisked, and cuffed both by the ankles and wrists.
Elon Musk, head Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) commented on the video, “So based 🦾”, he also retweeted the video, with the caption, “Haha wow”.
Haha wow 🧌🏅 https://t.co/PXFXpiGU0U
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2025
Other scenes feature a close-up of a man’s hands being cuffed together, another man’s feet shackled as he ascends a stairway to a plane, and a figure preparing to board the aircraft.
Sounds of chains and humming of the flight engine are used as ‘ASMR’ (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response), which refers to the calming sounds that trigger pleasant sensations, making the title particularly contentious. ASMR videos have been a viral trend on social media, the videos would include people cleaning, eating, putting on makeup etc.
The video was shared earlier Tuesday by the Seattle office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, with the words: “REMOVAL FLIGHT. A group of undocumented aliens are flown from Seattle as part of a process to finalize return to their home countries.”
✈️REMOVAL FLIGHT✈️
A group of undocumented aliens are flown from Seattle as part of a process to finalize return to their home countries.
For more info on ICE Air, visit https://t.co/dshkGbtHZe. pic.twitter.com/VD0GwSp8jO
— ICE Seattle (@EROSeattle) February 18, 2025
ICE’s video starts with a shot of an officer wearing a jacket that identifies him as part of the agency’s Enforcement and Removal Operations unit. However, the version shared by the White House begins differently, showing an officer standing behind a shackled migrant, seemingly frisking him.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, one of President Donald Trump’s key promises was to carry out mass deportations of immigrants residing in the US without legal authorisation.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has said that, since January 2025, it is detaining and planning to deport 600 to 1,100 immigrants a day. That marks an increase from the average 282 immigration arrests that happened each day in September 2024 under the Biden administration.
The current trend would place the Trump administration on track to apprehend 25,000 immigrants in Trump’s first month in office. On an annual basis, this is about 3,00,000 – far from the “millions and millions” of immigrants Trump promised to deport.
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