𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐊, 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐏 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐀 "𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐇-𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒," 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐄 𝐈.𝐂.𝐄.

 by Jim Barton

Just two weeks after the White House called SouthPark a desperate, irrelevant, and "fourth-rate" comedy series, Donald Trump’s personal security forces are now launching a recruitment campaign using South Park photos. On July 23, the show’s 27th season premiered two weeks behind schedule, delivering a harsh critique of the president and executives at Paramount, who had recently supported Trump’s use of lawsuits to silence critics and solicit bribes. 

The episode targeted the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which President Trump recently boosted with $170 billion in taxpayer money, a move that further ballooned the national deficit.  The Department of Homeland Security has unexpectedly leaned into the show’s satire as the DHS account on the platform X posted a still from the South Park promo featuring masked characters in vehicles marked “ICE.” The caption simply read “JOIN.ICE.GOV,” linking directly to the agency’s recruitment page

The trailer also appears to feature a character resembling DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, shown pointing a gun in the air while wearing a “POLICE ICE” vest and posing for the media. Noem has faced criticism in the past for using ICE operations as political photo opportunities.

In a statement to Newsweek, DHS thanked South Park for assisting with ICE recruitment, saying it appreciated the attention the show brought to law enforcement hiring. The spokesperson called on “patriotic Americans” to help remove violent criminals from the country and noted that new ICE recruits are eligible for benefits like up to $50,000 signing bonuses, student loan forgiveness, and retirement packages.