The Department of Homeland Security has deleted a social media post that depicted a Sikh man alongside a taunt telling him to get off American roads, after the image triggered a backlash.
The post showed a bearded man wearing a bandana facing off against Optimus Prime, the Transformers character, depicted wearing the Department of Homeland Security’s seal on his armor.
The image carried the line, “Get off our roads, you don’t know how to drive Mr. Singh.”
It was immediately blasted by Indian American groups and Democrats, who called it racist and said it stigmatized the many Americans who share the last name Singh, a common surname among Sikhs.
The timing made things worse as the post, on Wednesday, landed just ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, a date with painful resonance for Sikh Americans.
In the aftermath of those attacks, Sikh men, who traditionally wear beards and turbans, were mistakenly targeted in a wave of anti-Muslim violence, despite having no connection to the terrorists.
DHS, led by President Donald Trump’s handpicked secretary, Markwayne Mullin, insisted the graphic was about one specific person. They said it was Harjinder Singh, an Indian man accused of causing a fatal crash last year in which an 18-wheeler he was driving collided with a minivan on Florida’s turnpike, killing three people.
He has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide and manslaughter charges. The department dismissed the uproar as “nonsensical drivel” and declared in a statement, “Harjinder Singh is an illegal alien from India who should never have been in our country.”
It was hardly the administration’s first time spotlighting Sikh and Indian truck drivers in its immigration crackdown. A video DHS posted the same day featured several drivers who officials said were in the country illegally, including Singh, dressed similarly to the man in the now-deleted image.
Hasbro, which owns the Transformers franchise, made clear it wanted nothing to do with the campaign.
“Hasbro is aware of the recent posts using our characters,” the company said in a statement. “These posts were done without permission and do not represent the Transformers brand or Hasbro.”
On Instagram, the company leaned in further, framing its message around the character DHS had borrowed: “Optimus Prime is a beloved character who represents humility, leadership, compassion and justice. Hasbro is aware of the recent posts using his likeness. These posts were done without permission and do not represent the Transformers brand or Hasbro.”
Civil rights groups said the damage went well beyond one man’s mugshot. “We are appalled by the racist and xenophobic nature of this campaign,” said Harman Singh, executive director of the Sikh Coalition. “Nearly 25 years to the day after 9/11, Sikhs are still being profiled for how we look.”
The Coalition of Hindus of North America made a similar point in a social media post: “Dangerous drivers come from all backgrounds, ethnicities, faiths and last names. Singling out SOME last names does nothing for safe streets, but it does endanger the safety of hundreds of thousands of Americans with names like Singh and Kumar.”
After the post came down, the group thanked DHS for “ensuring that no community is singled out while enforcing our laws to the fullest extent and holding the guilty accountable.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office also weighed in, calling the post “disgusting” and “racist propaganda targeting the Sikh community.”
DHS fired back, noting that Singh had been granted his commercial driver’s license in Newsom’s own state.
