Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security ripped off a post on X written by a “manliness” influencer in an unoriginal push to justify the removal of migrants.
The department posted Thursday, and the message was almost identical to one posted the day before by a user behind an account called “the path to manliness,” which claims to be “helping men become dangerous, disciplined and respected.”
It blamed migrants for rent being too high, groceries costing too much, “women feeling unsafe walking down the street,” “terrible traffic” and expensive healthcare.
Noem’s team appeared inspired by the influencer, who mused, “It blows my mind how this is hard for people to understand” in his original post, shared Wednesday.
The official government account posted an almost word-for-word version Thursday morning to its 2.8 million followers, but took out the claim that “an extra 20 million people” were to blame for the issues.
Instead, the department said that there are “tens of millions of illegal criminals in our country.”
In the eyes of the Trump administration, all undocumented migrants are criminals despite the courts having ruled it’s a civil violation, not a criminal one.
The Independent has contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
The influencer originally shared the post in response to another that suggested the latest anti-immigration operation in Charlotte, North Carolina, was responsible for a drop in traffic.
More than 250 were arrested in the city during the surge, which has now come to an end, according to the sheriff’s office in Mecklenburg County. Targets of the Trump administration included people living in the U.S. without legal permission and those who allegedly have criminal records, yet federal officials have offered few details about those arrested.
They've also remained quiet about the scope of the enforcement operations across North Carolina and where agents will show up next, keeping communities on edge.
The crackdown in Charlotte has been met with pockets of resistance and protests.
About 100 people gathered outside of a Home Depot store Wednesday where federal agents were spotted multiple times since the surge started.
Protest organizers briefly went inside the store with orange and white signs that said, “ICE out of Home Depot, Protect our communities.”
Just days after beginning the crackdown in North Carolina, Border Patrol agents were reportedly expected to arrive in New Orleans by the end of the week to start preparing for their next operation in southeast Louisiana.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
