Hindus for Human Rights Condemns Racist, Anti-Sikh DHS Deportation Campaign and Calls for its Immediate Removal

The DHS post since deleted

Hindus for Human Rights condemns the racist and xenophobic imagery published through the Department of Homeland Security’s official social media accounts in a post that has since been deleted. On September 9, DHS published a graphic urging Americans to report “illegal aliens on American roads,” building on an ICE announcement promoting its hotline for reports of suspected Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) fraud with an image drawn from crude and prominent Anti-Sikh and South Asian racist stereotypes. Although the posts are now deleted. We condemn the use of such hateful imagery, especially as we commemorate the 25th memorial of 9/11, a tragedy that also scarred the South Asian memory in the US with violent Islamophobia, racially motivated attacks, and profiling. 

Stop AAPI Hate has found that anti-South Asian hate has risen by 109% in the last two years. Anti-South Asian hate is rooted in narratives of the Great Replacement theory fearing an “Indian invasion.” The DHS’ X post feeds directly into these narratives and endangers the safety of South Asians, especially Sikhs, in the US. This is a familiar pattern. In 2025, after a Sikh truck driver was involved in a road accident. Moonshot and Stop AAPI Hate recorded 40,000 instances of hateful slurs against Sikhs and South Asians used online in its aftermath.

The tipline suggests that it is just trying to crack down on CDL fraud. However, the deleted post racially profiles Sikhs and threatens them with deportation. As Hindus committed to pluralism and human rights, we stand unequivocally with Sikh Americans against this attempt to turn their faith and identity into objects of public suspicion. We call on members of Congress to demand answers from DHS, investigate how this material was approved, and ensure that federal reporting systems are not used to facilitate racial or religious profiling. Racism and profiling become enduring trauma for communities as a whole. It cannot be fixed by deleting a post.