"Amid nationwide outrage over the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, two House Democrats are pressing Google and Meta to answer for recruitment campaign posts that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has recently run on their platforms. The lawmakers, Reps. Becca Balint of Vermont and Pramila Jayapal of Washington, have accused the companies of being "complicit" with the Trump administration and enabling ICE's efforts to promote slogans that-they say-have also been employed by white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups."
"The inquiries were sent on January 21, and as of Monday, the platforms still had not responded. "What is going on with ICE is a five-alarm fire for our democracy, and these corporations are in it up to their necks," Balint tells Fast Company. "They can no longer claim they 'didn't know.' They are not only profiting from cruelty but actively helping to perpetuate it at everyone else's expense. We expect answers, and we expect them now.""
"Under the Trump administration, ICE has sought to rapidly scale up recruitment. The agency aimed to spend $100 million on the effort, according to a document reported by The Washington Post last year, and it outlined a 'wartime recruitment' strategy that included targeting people who show interest in firearms, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events, and podcasts focused on patriotism. ICE has run about 65 different advertisements on Google since the beginning of the year, according to the platform's ad library."
Nationwide outrage followed the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, prompting Representatives Becca Balint and Pramila Jayapal to demand answers from Google and Meta over ICE recruitment posts. The lawmakers accuse the companies of being complicit with the Trump administration and of enabling ICE slogans also used by white nationalist and neo‑Nazi groups. The inquiries were sent on January 21 and the platforms had not responded. ICE pursued rapid recruitment expansion with a reported $100 million plan and a 'wartime recruitment' strategy targeting people interested in firearms, UFC events, and patriotism podcasts. ICE ran roughly 65 Google ads offering a $50,000 signing bonus, 'Defend the Homeland' messaging, Uncle Sam imagery, and provocative Meta posts depicting knights with the text THE ENEMIES ARE AT THE GATES.
Read at Fast Company
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