ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is spending millions of dollars on television advertising. Some of that money is now being direct at metro Atlanta.
The ads are aimed at recruiting local officers frustrated with their cities' restrictions on immigration enforcement into President Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts.
The ads open with video of each metro's familiar skyline and the narrator's voice announcing, for example, "Attention, Atlanta law enforcement." Beyond that, the spots are identical, inviting officers to "join ICE and help us catch the worst of the worst. Drug traffickers. Gang members. Predators."
"You took an oath to protect and serve, to keep your family, your city, safe," the narrator says, as images of the cities targeted and ICE agents arresting people move across the screen. "But in sanctuary cities, you're ordered to stand down while dangerous illegals walk free."
The campaign began in mid-September, but the ads started airing in Atlanta last week. According to AdImpact, Atlanta saw $947,000 in ads last week, the most in the country.
Law enforcement expert and former Los Angeles police officer Arif Halaby says ICE recruitment is about common sense for the country.
"The President of the United States is not designed to be anybody's best friend. He's designed to fix the country and the cities," he said. "It's not a Black or white thing. It's not a Hispanic thing. I think if people understood the real criminals that are out there that are illegal immigrants
Political analyst Madeline Summerville said the ads are part of Trump's broader propaganda push.
"He's branding America and he's using ICE to do it and recruit people," Summerville said. "It's, in my view, encouraging an insurrection. I think what he's saying is, 'pick a side. There's so much chaos. There's so much turmoil. Look at your city. Don't you want to protect it?'"
ICE is already offering bonuses of up to $50,000 for new recruits and other benefits such as tuition reimbursement as it seeks to fast-track hiring. The incentives, funded by President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill, are made possible because of tax breaks and spending cuts.
The ad blitz comes as law enforcement departments around the country are struggling to meet staffing demands.