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The Trump administration has sparked controversy over a poster targeting Indian-origin people as part of its campaign urging undocumented immigrants to leave the United States.
The poster, shared by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on social media, features Optimus Prime from the Transformers film franchise wearing the DHS insignia. Standing before him is a brown-skinned, bearded man identified as “Mr Singh”.
“Get off our roads. You don’t know how to drive, Mr Singh,” the poster says.
The campaign is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to encourage undocumented immigrants to voluntarily leave the US, using messages such as “Leave voluntarily or face the consequences”.
The poster has drawn strong criticism from rights groups, which have accused the administration of using racist and discriminatory messaging targeting Indian and Sikh communities.
The Hindu American Foundation said people with the surname Singh include Hindus, Sikhs and US citizens who drive. It described the DHS campaign as racist, anti-American and discriminatory against Indian Americans and called for an investigation.
The Sikh Coalition also criticised the poster, saying millions of Sikhs in the US have the surname Singh and that Sikhs continue to be targeted because of their appearance.
According to an NDTV report, Singh is a common surname among both Hindus and Sikhs, with members of these communities also having a significant presence in the US trucking industry. Critics argue that despite being presented as a campaign aimed at undocumented immigrants, the wording broadly targets Indian-origin people living in the US.
The DHS has also released an AI-generated video featuring Megatron, another Transformers character, discussing the release of several truck drivers, including Harjinder Singh, Rajinder Kumar, Bekzhan Beishekiv, Akhror Bozorov and Jasveer Singh. The report said the drivers had been involved in road crashes and other offences.
The campaign offers eligible undocumented immigrants travel assistance and incentives of up to $2,600 to leave the US voluntarily, according to DHS information.