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The Pokemon Company has stated that it did not authorize the use of its brand or content in a recent deportation raid video posted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The video, released on social media accounts of Homeland Security and the White House, featured Pokemon’s well-known slogan and footage from its popular anime.
In a statement shared with the BBC, Pokemon Company International underlined that it had no role in producing or distributing the video. The company stressed that “permission was not granted for the use of our intellectual property.”
The video in question used the original Pokemon theme song and included scenes from the show’s opening credits, with the main character Ash Ketchum appearing on screen. It also displayed the iconic slogan “Gotta catch ’em all,” repurposed in the context of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
The closing segment of the video presented fake Pokemon trading cards, each showing the mugshots of arrested individuals alongside alleged offenses such as murder, child endangerment, burglary, and paedophilia.
The release of the video comes as ICE intensifies deportation raids across the United States, part of what the Trump administration has called the “largest deportation programme of criminals in the history of America.” The campaign has led to numerous arrests by border patrol and ICE agents nationwide.
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