Immigration and Customs Enforcement spent over $700,000 tricking out a pair of trucks designed to look like Donald Trump’s private jet for a series of social media posts to boost recruitment efforts.
A video posted by the Department of Homeland Security with music by rapper DaBaby shows a Ford Raptor pickup truck and GMC Yukon SUV rolling around Washington, D.C., and parked in front of the White House, Capitol, Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
The trucks have a navy blue paint job with red and white racing stripes and a gold ICE logo. The words “defend the homeland” appear on the side, and “President Donald J. Trump” is printed in gold on a rear window.
According to federal procurement records seen by The Independent, the government paid more than $505,000 for the vehicles from at least three dealerships. The government spent another $227,000 on the wrap jobs provided by at least four companies.
The look is strikingly similar to the Trump Organization’s Boeing 757, nicknamed Trump Force One, which is also covered in navy blue with a red stripe and the president’s name in a similar bolded gold print.
In the video directing social media users to ICE’s recruitment website, DaBaby raps “my heart so cold I think I’m done with ice” and “better not pull up with no knife, ’cause I bring guns to fights.”
Republicans in Congress earmarked $30 billion for ICE’s hiring spree, which intends to add 14,000 immigration officers to support Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
Congress also approved $45 billion in new funding for ICE detention centers. Altogether, Trump’s “big, beautiful” domestic policy bill sets aside more than $170 billion for immigration enforcement over the next decade.
That injection of taxpayer cash makes the law enforcement agency one of the most expensive police forces in the world, outpacing most foreign military budgets.
Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem has also dropped age limit requirements and is allowing people as young as 18 and older than 40 to apply for jobs with the agency, “so even more patriots will qualify to join ICE in its mission to arrest murderers, pedophiles, gang members, rapists, and other criminal illegal aliens from America’s streets,” according to DHS.
ICE is also advertising a “maximum $50,000 signing bonus” and student loan forgiveness for new recruits.
The agency specifically wants to target “Gen Z and early-career professionals,” as well as former law enforcement officers, military veterans and people from legal fields, according to the agency’s recent request for information seen by The Independent.
Those request are typically the first step in a government procurement process to begin contracting with marketing firms for a nationwide advertising campaign.
ICE wants to reach more than 42 million people in those “target audience groups” across social media platforms as well as through ads on Hulu, HBO Max and Amazon Prime, among other networks, the pitch says.
“This is a critical priority,” the agency wrote on the government’s procurement website earlier this month. “ICE has an immediate need to begin recruitment efforts and requires specialized commercial advertising experience, established infrastructure, and qualified personnel to activate without delay.”
Homeland Security posted the images and music video-inspired clip as the Trump administration took federal control of Washington’s local police force and deployed hundreds of National Guard troops and federal law enforcement agents into the capital city’s streets. D.C. officials sued the Trump administration on Friday, alleging unconstitutional overreach that infringes on the city’s self-governance.
ICE acknowledged The Independent’s request for comment but did not respond to questions about the paint jobs.
The Independent has requested comment from a representative for DaBaby.
