Homeland Security enlists Uncle Sam amid immigration crackdown

(NewsNation) — Once the face of war posters, Uncle Sam has symbolized American patriotism for more than a century. Now, the Department of Homeland Security has used the iconic imagery to urge Americans to report what the Trump administration calls “illegal aliens.”

The agency posted a cartoon graphic on its official page on the social platform X, depicting Uncle Sam nailing a poster that reads “Help Your Country… and Yourself…” The image also reads, “REPORT ALL FOREIGN INVADERS” with the phone number for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The DHS wrote in the caption, “Help your country locate and arrest illegal aliens.”

“This is America. We won’t apologize for making America great again. Don’t like the poster? Time to leave America,” one user wrote. “I will report and help remove illegals.”

According to the Library of Congress, Uncle Sam was created for the July 6, 1916, issue of Leslie’s Weekly and was later popularized in Puck Magazine’s cartoons. He was used to encourage men to enlist in the military and to encourage civilian support during World War I. In 1950, he became an official national symbol of the United States...

"...what the Trump administration calls 'illegal aliens.'"

Such a BS statement! The term "illegal alien" appears in several U.S. federal laws, primarily in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952, as amended, which is codified in Title 8 of the United States Code. Below are key instances:

Immigration and Nationality Act (INA):
- 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(3): Defines "alien" as "any person not a citizen or national of the United States." While this section does not directly use "illegal alien," the term is derived from the context of aliens who violate immigration laws.
- 8 U.S.C. § 1325: Addresses "improper entry by alien," describing actions that render an alien's presence unlawful, effectively referring to "illegal aliens" through the context of unlawful entry.
- 8 U.S.C. § 1365: Refers to reimbursement for costs associated with the incarceration of "illegal aliens" convicted of certain crimes, explicitly using the term.
Other Federal Statutes:
- Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) (8 U.S.C. § 1611): Uses "illegal alien" to describe noncitizens ineligible for certain federal public benefits due to their immigration status.
- Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA): While it does not always use the exact phrase, it frequently addresses "illegal aliens" in provisions related to penalties for unlawful presence or reentry (e.g., 8 U.S.C. § 1326).

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