- Despite the shutdown and dwindling SNAP funds, DHS and ICE spent nearly $10 million on recruitment and deportation ads since October 1.
- Critics call the ad blitz tone-deaf as millions risk hunger while DHS prioritizes targeted, large-scale immigration messaging and hiring incentives.
WASHINGTON — As the federal government shutdown stretches into its fifth week, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay and vital services like food assistance on the brink, the Trump administration has quietly ramped up spending on a high-profile advertising blitz.
According to a new analysis, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have shelled out nearly $10 million on social media and TV ads since the shutdown began on October 1, pushing messages to recruit new agents and urge undocumented immigrants to self-deport.
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The spending comes at a particularly stark moment. With Congress deadlocked over budget disputes—largely centered on immigration funding and healthcare subsidies—the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as food stamps, is running low on funds.
Millions of low-income Americans could soon face empty pantries, a crisis that’s drawn sharp rebukes from Democrats and advocacy groups.
Yet while SNAP teeters, DHS ads continue to flood platforms like Spotify, YouTube, and Meta, targeting everything from morning talk shows to Mexican soccer broadcasts.
The report, released Wednesday by the research firm Equis and the Democratic-aligned Priorities USA, paints a picture of priorities amid fiscal chaos.
The Numbers Americans Need to Know About
Between October 1 and 21 alone, ICE dropped $4.5 million on paid media, while DHS added another $5.3 million.
That’s part of a broader push: ICE has invested over $13 million in ads since August, zeroing in on sanctuary cities like Seattle, Boston, and Chicago with tailored campaigns.
The ads blend recruitment drives—aimed at young people, veterans, and former law enforcement—with stark warnings for immigrants: leave voluntarily or face consequences.
“This feels inherently wrong as a taxpayer,” said Natalia Campos Vargas, deputy research director at Equis, in an interview with Newsweek.
“Millions of people are at risk of losing their food stamps and are about to go hungry because of this government shutdown. But somehow the Trump administration and DHS and ICE are choosing to spend millions of dollars on ad campaigns.”
The backlash isn’t just from the left. Even as the ads roll out, they’ve sparked boycotts—Spotify users have threatened to ditch the platform over ICE recruitment spots popping up mid-podcast—while others cheer the department’s meme-heavy social media presence, which has leaned into viral posts telling undocumented immigrants to “pack your bags.”
A Spotify spokesperson pushed back on the uproar, noting the ads are part of a “broad campaign the U.S. government is running across television, streaming, and online channels” and don’t violate platform policies.
Users can still thumbs-down them to tweak their feeds.
Official Statements from DHS
DHS defends the outlays as essential and pre-funded. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in a statement to Newsweek, emphasized the administration’s commitment to law enforcement amid what she called the “Democrats’ shutdown.”
Every day, Democrat lawmakers attack the men and women of law enforcement and now they have shut down the government, putting our officers and their families at financial risk,” McLaughlin said.
“President Trump and Secretary Noem will always stand by law enforcement, and have made sure they are paid during the Democrats’ shutdown.
More than 70,000 sworn law enforcement officers across DHS including those serving in CBP, ICE, Secret Service, TSA and other critical mission areas will be paid for all hours worked during the shutdown period.
The advertising expenditures you reference are from funds dedicated to the hiring campaign and is funded by the One Big Beautiful Bill.”
That bill—a massive budget reconciliation package signed into law on July 4—has become the administration’s financial lifeline during the impasse.
It pumped an extra $75 billion into ICE operations with few strings attached, allowing flexible spending on everything from salaries to ads.
Thanks to it, DHS has rolled out “super checks” for frontline agents, bundling regular pay with back wages and overtime.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced last week that these checks would hit bank accounts by October 22, covering more than 70,000 officers in ICE, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Secret Service, and TSA air marshals.
DHS Ads Draw 175,000 Applications
Noem, a former South Dakota governor and vocal Trump ally, has been front and center in the messaging war.
In a social media post on October 1, she assured the public that “federal law enforcement officers will continue to work throughout the government shutdown,” even as roughly 200,000 DHS personnel—essential staff included—go without immediate pay.
“DHS remains deeply grateful to our law enforcement for their continued professionalism, vigilance, and service under challenging circumstances,” she added in a later statement.
The strategy has yielded results. McLaughlin told The Independent that the ad push has drawn “more than 175,000 applications” to ICE, leading to over 18,000 tentative job offers.
Signing bonuses of $50,000 remain on the table, undeterred by the shutdown, as the department targets streaming services like HBO Max alongside traditional outlets.
Ad Scale Has Raised Eyebrows
Critics argue it’s tone-deaf.
“In my view, it’s like spending money on shooting ourselves in the foot and deciding which foot we want to shoot first,” said Geddes Scott, president of the American Federation of Government Employees NY/NJ VA Council 246, a retired VA nurse whose members include federal law enforcement veterans worried about their own missed paychecks.
Under federal rules, government media campaigns typically halt during shutdowns unless deemed “essential” or backed by prior appropriations.
DHS contingency plans allow law enforcement and border security to chug along—97% of CBP’s 67,000 workers and 95% of ICE’s 22,000 are funded this way—but the ad scale has raised eyebrows.
Reuters reported internal emails promising pay to ICE and CBP staff implementing Trump’s immigration crackdown, shielding them from the hardships hitting other feds.
Meanwhile, DHS’s own website warns of lapsed updates due to funding gaps, a reminder that not everything hums along uninterrupted.
The broader campaign, the most expensive political-style ad buy of 2025, is outsourced to firms like People Who Think—veterans of Trump’s 2016 run—and Safe America Media, a newly formed LLC.
A DHS contract justification pegs their payout at up to $200 million, dwarfing even the $35 million spent by Virginia gubernatorial hopeful Abigail Spanberger.
Targeting leans heavily into Latino audiences: Meta data shows ads hitting fans of Mexican pop, Liga MX soccer, and the national team, alongside spots on Univision’s Despierta America and Fox’s The Five.
What Happens Next?
DHS insists the effort won’t slacken. A department release on October 1 vowed that “despite the Democrats’ government shutdown,” ICE would keep arresting “the worst of the worst”—pedophiles, murderers, human traffickers, and gang members.
Still, Federal data shows a surge in detentions: Over 75% of those booked into ICE custody in fiscal year 2025 had no criminal convictions beyond immigration or traffic violations, per a CNN analysis, contradicting administration claims of prioritizing “criminals and criminal illegal aliens.”
Assistant Secretary McLaughlin echoed that in another statement: “Not only are these law enforcement officers risking their lives amid a 1000% increase in assaults against them… but they are now working without pay because of the Democrats’ government shutdown.
It’s time for Democrats to end the government shutdown, so our ICE officers can get their paychecks as they work to make America safe again.”
As the shutdown drags on—furloughing 900,000 workers and stranding 2 million without checks—the ad war underscores deep divides.
For the Trump team, it’s a bulwark for border security; for opponents, a misfire when families can’t afford groceries.
With no end in sight, the spots will keep playing, a digital drumbeat in a very real funding silence.
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