US government says it’ll keep making video game memes, as Halo co-creator says ICE ad makes him ‘sick’

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says it will continue using video games and other popular culture for propaganda purposes, amid criticism from developers behind one of the games featured in its social media posts.

Earlier this week the White House posted an AI-generated image on X featuring President Donald Trump dressed as Master Chief from the Halo series, saluting a US flag (with missing stars) and holding a Covenant energy sword.

This was followed by another post by the official DHS account on X, which showed a screenshot from Halo along with the message “destroy the Flood – join ICE”.

ICE – or US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement – has been accused of numerous civil rights abuses under Trump’s second administration, and of being a tool of intimidation due to its use of masks and balaclavas, accusations of ‘kidnapping’ and a ruling from federal judges in LA that it has engaged in racial profiling.

As such, an ad using Halo to encourage people to join ICE and “destroy the Flood” – a reference to both the enemies in the Xbox series and the supposed ‘flood’ of illegal immigrants entering the US – has understandably been met with division.

While former Halo composer Marty O’Donnell – who is running as a Republican for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional seat next year – praised the ad, saying he would “work with the Trump administration to destroy the Flood once and for all” – other former Halo developers have spoken out against the use of their work for right-wing messaging.

Speaking to Game File, Halo co-creator and Master Chief lead designer Marus Lehto said he found the DHS’s ICE recruitment post “absolutely abhorrent”, saying: “It really makes me sick seeing Halo co-opted like this.”

Meanwhile, Jaime Griesemer – one of the chief designers on numerous early Halo games – said he found the post showing Trump as Master Chief amusing, stating that he took it as a compliment because “like anything with cultural capital, it is going to be used by politicians and brands and anyone else looking for relevancy”.

However, Griesemer said he didn’t approve of the DHS / ICE post, saying: “Using Halo imagery in a call to ‘destroy’ people because of their immigration status goes way too far, and ought to offend every Halo fan, regardless of political orientation. I personally find it despicable. The Flood are evil space zombie parasites and are not an allegory to any group of people.”

Now, journalist Alyssa Mercante has received a statement from DHS saying it had no plans to stop using video games to spread its messaging.

“We will reach people where they are with content they can relate to and understand, whether that be Halo, Pokémon, Lord of the Rings or any other medium,” the statement reads. “DHS remains laser focused on bringing awareness to the flood of crime that criminal illegal aliens have inflicted on our country. We aren’t slowing down.”

Microsoft has not yet commented on either the White House image of Trump as Master Chief, or the DHS’s Halo-themed ICE recruitment message. Microsoft is a prominent donor to the Trump administration and has numerous government contracts.

Last month The Pokémon Company officially stated that it did not give permission for the use of the Pokémon anime theme song in another DHS post on X, showing alleged illegal immigrants being apprehended by ICE with the caption “gotta catch ’em all”.

“We are aware of a recent video posted by the Department of Homeland Security that includes imagery and language associated with our brand,” Pokémon Company International told the BBC at the time.

“Our company was not involved in the creation or distribution of this content, and permission was not granted for the use of our intellectual property.”