Commentary: ICE ads are playing on a streamer near you. Can they survive the online rebellion?

by

You’re stuck in traffic, relaxing with Taylor Swift on Spotify – it’s just easier than trying to discover new music. Suddenly, a dramatic ad interrupts your song. A deep voice warns, “Join the mission to protect America,” promising up to $50,000 in bonuses and great benefits if you apply now and “fulfill your mission.”

This is an ad from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, funded by a $30 billion Trump administration plan to hire over 10,000 more deportation officers by year’s end. If you’d paid for Spotify Premium to avoid ads, you wouldn’t have seen this. But now, you’re likely switching to a different music service – perhaps Apple Music or Tidal.

California

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is attracting applicants with high salaries, help paying off student loans, and other perks. This is frustrating some local leaders who are already finding it difficult to hire and keep employees.

People are strongly protesting after seeing recruitment ads for a military force connected to a president accused of seeking excessive power. This week, the protests have led to calls for boycotts of streaming services like Pandora, ESPN, YouTube, Hulu, and Fubo TV, which have shown these ads. Many HBO Max users on X (formerly Twitter) complained about being shown recruitment videos while watching All Elite Wrestling, with one user, @YKWrestling, writing, “Having to watch ICE commercials for two hours again.”

Advertisements seeking recruits – like the famous “I Want You” posters – are a long-standing tradition in America, particularly during wartime. However, today’s recruitment efforts are focused on deploying forces within American cities, based on the idea that these areas are under attack and facing danger from undocumented immigrants, left-wing protestors, and rising crime. But the facts don’t back up these claims. According to the American Immigration Council, crime rates actually fell by over 60% between 1980 and 2022, even as the percentage of immigrants in the U.S. population more than doubled.

A much more frightening possibility exists if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) succeeds in hiring more people: a private army dedicated solely to Trump, used to maintain his power. While a strange Spotify ad might seem unusual, the administration has recently spent over $6.5 million on commercials specifically targeting police officers, hoping to recruit them.

The commercials, shown on television in over a dozen cities like Chicago, Seattle, and Atlanta, began with shots of each city’s skyline. A strong voice then directly addressed local law enforcement, starting with, “Attention, Miami law enforcement!” The ads then used the same message as other ICE commercials nationwide: “You swore to protect and serve your family and city. But in sanctuary cities, you’re told to stand by while dangerous criminals are released—join ICE and help us catch the most dangerous offenders, like drug traffickers, gang members, and predators.”

California

As a total cinema devotee, I was really struck by a news story I read. Apparently, a huge number of people – thousands, in fact – showed up at a job fair in Arlington, Texas, specifically looking for careers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It was a bit unsettling to hear that so many were hoping to become deportation officers, honestly. It just felt like a scene ripped from a dystopian film, the sheer number of applicants aiming for that particular role.

It’s difficult to know if the advertising campaign is effective, as the White House isn’t very open about its results. However, the Department of Homeland Security announced on September 16th that they received over 150,000 applications and made 18,000 preliminary job offers as a result of the campaign.

As a fan, I was really interested to see what happened with the recent boycott calls. It looks like they actually had an impact! Reports said over 1.7 million people canceled their subscriptions to Disney, Hulu, and ESPN during the week Jimmy Kimmel was temporarily off the air. ABC pulled his show after some controversial comments he made about Charlie Kirk upset a lot of people, and it even got the attention of the FCC chair. But after that huge jump in cancellations – over 400% more than usual! – Kimmel was back on the air after just a week. It’s pretty amazing to see how much power viewers can have.

Honestly, I’m really disappointed to see Spotify still running those ads from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I was hoping they’d reconsider, but their official statement basically says it’s part of a wider government campaign and doesn’t break their rules. They did mention you can give ads a thumbs up or down, which is…something, I guess, but it doesn’t really address the bigger issue. It feels like they’re prioritizing ad revenue over listener concerns, and as a long-time user, that’s pretty frustrating.

People are expressing strong disapproval, even calling for a boycott of Spotify. One suggestion is to cancel your subscription as a way to defend American interests.

Read More

2025-10-18 05:01