A tongue-in-cheek video featuring a ICE Santa Claus figure delivering a hardline message on illegal immigration has ignited fierce debate, after Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a holiday-themed clip urging illegal immigrants to leave the United States voluntarily if they want to stay off the “naughty list.”
The video, which circulated widely on social media, shows “ICE Santa” warning illegal immigrants that enforcement is ramping up and that self-deportation is the safest option before agents come knocking. While critics quickly condemned the clip as provocative, supporters praised it as a clear and timely message about border enforcement and public safety under President Donald Trump’s administration.
AVOID ICE AIR AND SANTA’S NAUGHTY LIST!
Self-deport today with the CBP Home app, earn $3,000 and spend Christmas at home with loved ones.
Holiday incentive is valid through the end of 2025. pic.twitter.com/v80QAaKquD
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) December 22, 2025
ICE officials said the video was designed to draw attention to renewed enforcement priorities focused on removing criminal illegal aliens, traffickers, and repeat immigration violators. The lighthearted tone, they stressed, does not diminish the seriousness of the mission: enforcing federal immigration law while protecting communities and officers operating under constant threat.
Border Patrol and ICE agents routinely face violent cartels, armed smugglers, and organized trafficking networks while doing their jobs. Agents have been assaulted, shot at, and targeted by criminal organizations that profit from moving drugs, guns, and human beings across the southern border. Officials note that illegal migrant smuggling is no longer a loose criminal enterprise but a multi-billion-dollar industry run by transnational cartels.
The contrast in ICE enforcement levels between the Joe Biden and Donald Trump administrations remains stark. Under President Joe Biden, illegal border crossings surged to historic highs, topping more than two million encounters in a single year, overwhelming Border Patrol and allowing countless illegal immigrants to be released into the interior. During Donald Trump’s presidency, crossings dropped dramatically following tougher enforcement, the Remain in Mexico policy, expanded deportations, and stricter asylum standards.
Live footage of US border patrol surveying the wall and seeing no illegal migrants trying to enter.🤣 pic.twitter.com/4QbIUOiYbj
— Patriotic 🇬🇧 Nation 🟣 (@HoodedClaw1974) December 23, 2025
Law enforcement officials also point to a sharp rise in crimes committed by illegal immigrants during the Biden years, particularly in sanctuary jurisdictions where cooperation with ICE was limited. Under Trump, cooperation between federal and local agencies increased, resulting in higher removals of criminal illegal aliens convicted of violent offenses.
ICE agents warn that the issue extends far beyond illegal immigration violations. Over the past five years, thousands of individuals flagged on the U.S. terror watchlist have been encountered at the southern border, with many originating from countries of concern in the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa. Officials caution that while not all were terrorists, the inability to properly vet or detain them poses a serious national security risk.
Drug seizures at the border further underscore the stakes. Fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine have flooded into the U.S. through trafficking corridors exploited by illegal crossings, contributing to record overdose deaths. Firearms have also been trafficked both north and south, fueling violence on both sides of the border.
Supporters of the ICE Santa video argue that blunt messaging is long overdue. They say illegal immigrants who have committed crimes or violated immigration law deserve clear notice that enforcement is real and consequences are returning. Voluntary self-deportation, officials say, spares families the trauma of arrests while freeing agents to focus on the most dangerous offenders.
Critics have accused ICE of politicizing Christmas, but agency defenders counter that border enforcement does not pause for the holidays. Agents work around the clock, in harsh terrain and dangerous conditions, to uphold the law while facing growing hostility and reduced support in recent years.
As the Donald Trump administration continues restoring aggressive border policies, the message behind the ICE Santa video is unmistakable. The era of catch-and-release is over, enforcement is back, and illegal immigrants are being warned to leave now — or face removal later.
