The White House Really Dropped an ASMR Video on Deportation Flights—And People Are Pissed
The federal government has set its eyes squarely on the immigrant community, and they are not hiding their glee. The current Republican Party has turned hostile to immigrant communities and made them the scapegoat of the 21st century. The federal government is now making ASMR social media content about deportation flights.
The White House’s official social media channels are feeding into this disturbing jubilation, particularly with an ASMR video. The backlash to the post was swift, but despite the furor, trolls will always troll.
This is a good time to remind people that feeding social media and online trolls is never the right way to handle their vitriolic behavior.
The current White House participated in the cherished tradition of ASMR videos
The video shows immigration officials getting equipment and people ready for a deportation flight.
The video was shared on all of the White House’s official social media channels, reaching as many people following the administration as possible. On X (formerly Twitter), it has received more than 103 million views.
The Trump administration is hyper-focused on everything they can do to ramp up mass deportations. The particular video was shot at the King County International Airport-Boeing Field in Seattle, according to The Seattle Times.
ASMR, which stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, is a popular social media video trend. The videos, which typically feature people whispering or doing menial tasks, are supposed to elicit a soothing response from viewers. Honestly, if seeing people arrested brings people a soothing response, there needs to be a larger conversation about how the dehumanization of the proceedings is being trivialized.
The ASMR video is receiving backlash from social media users and migrant rights advocates
“Part of it is, you know…trying to terrorize and use this imagery in a way that forces people to be fearful of any type of ICE encounter,” Benjamin Prado, a coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee, told ABC10 News San Diego. He added: “Just listening to the chains being placed on the floor, no markings on the airplane… it raises the question: Where am I being taken to?”
The video posting is flooded with comments from social media users both celebrating the video and admonishing its creation. It’s the cavalier treatment of traumatic experiences targeting immigrant communities that has people the most upset.
The Trump administration is arresting people without criminal records
According to reports, immigration officials arrested 1,179 people for deportation in a single day. The Trump administration publicly said that they were going after people with criminal records that posed a risk to the public. However, of the 1,179, only 52 percent (613 people) were considered criminal arrests. The rest of those detained did not have criminal records.
The Trump administration has attempted to reframe criminality and immigration. President Donald Trump and Border Czar Tom Homan have painted being in the country without authorization as a criminal offense. However, according to federal law, being in the country undocumented is not a criminal offense. At most, being in the country as an undocumented person is a civil matter.
