WASHINGTON — Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) issued the following statement on Sept. 11 in response to a series of social media posts from the Department of Homeland Security depicting Sikh and other immigrant drivers as enemies of the U.S.:
“We are outraged by the blatantly racist and xenophobic social media posts coming from the Department of Homeland Security that portray the Sikh community, and other immigrants, as enemies of the United States. Sikh Americans are not enemies of this country – they are our neighbors, our colleagues, our friends, and proud Americans who contribute to every part of our nation.”
One of the posts shows the character Optimus Prime from the “Transformers” franchise, wearing a DHS badge, facing off with a Sikh man. The copy reads: “Self-deport or find out. Transformers: America for Americans. Get off our roads. You don’t know how to drive, Mr. Singh.”
The post, which has since been deleted, uses the image of a real person, Harjinder Singh, who was involved in a 2025 traffic accident in which three people died. DHS said that Singh entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2018.
“Millions of Sikhs bear the name ‘Singh,’ including an American patriot and trailblazer, Rep. Dalip Singh Saund, who became the first Asian American ever elected to Congress in 1956,” CAPAC said.
“To suggest that someone’s name, faith, or immigrant background makes them a threat to America is not only offensive – it is dangerous.
“These posts are particularly disturbing at a time when anti-Sikh hate crimes are rising. Recently released FBI data shows that anti-Sikh hate crime incidents increased by 25% from 2024 to 2025. When the federal government uses its platform to depict an entire community as a threat, it risks giving hate and discrimination a louder voice and putting real people in danger.
“We have seen the consequences of this kind of rhetoric before, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we cannot allow it to happen again.
“CAPAC unequivocally condemns this appalling rhetoric. Our government leaders can and must do better.”
Hasbro, which owns the Transformers brand, issued a statement saying that recent posts using Optimus Prime’s likeness were “done without permission and do not represent the Transformers brand or Hasbro,” according to Newsweek.
“Optimus Prime is a beloved character who represents humility, leadership, compassion and justice,” the statement read.
Another DHS post, designed to look like a movie poster, reads, “Transformers: Age of Deportation. DHS is getting the worst of the worst off of America’s roads.”
“DHS took this post down because of the immediate backlash and outrage,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said regarding the “Mr. Singh” post. “This is incredibly racist and should have NEVER been posted … Demonizing entire communities like this is unacceptable. Thank you to all the people who spoke out against this — we have to call it out and dismantle DHS.”
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) said, “More than 160,000 people in the United States share the surname Singh. When the government demonizes that name, a name carried by so many Sikh families, it fuels xenophobia and casts suspicion on an entire community.”