The U.S. has spent more than $500,000 on over-target YouTube ads to stop irregular migrations
Just two months later, the ads began airing on Freedom TV in Mexico, in football matches and gold shows. In one of the messages, Noam warned: “If you consider coming to the United States illegally, don’t even think about it. Let me be clear: If you come to our country and violate our laws, we will hunt you down. Criminals are not welcome.”
The initiative is part of a broader context for state and federal campaigns aimed at blocking immigration, including public exchange strategies such as billboards and information information, to more aggressive measures such as installation of barbed wire and deportation operations.
Mexican President Responds
In response, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is pushing for legal reforms to ban foreign propaganda in local media, saying the places violate sovereignty. The U.S. government and Mexican TV (led by Televisa) explored legal loopholes to broadcast controversial ads that are now marked as “discriminatory” by Mexican authorities.
For Sheinbaum, who often feels reconciled about Trump’s demands to avoid economic retaliation, the sport has crossed the line in football games and shows with large audiences. On Monday, she asked the TV station to withdraw the ad. When the ads continued to air on Mexican TV on Tuesday, Sheinbaum announced reforms to the federal telecommunications law to prohibit foreign governments from buying advertising space for political or ideological purposes. Measures, including social networks, attempted to reverse the loopholes created in 2014, when former President Enrique Peña Nieto lifted similar restrictions.
The attraction starring Kristi Noem links irregular immigration to violent crimes: “Pedophiles. Rapemen. Killers. Murderers. These are just some of the illegal foreigners we deport from the country,” she said in one of the videos. Investment in digital platforms is designed to maximize coverage.
“What can they promote? Tourism, culture. But not discriminatory propaganda,” Sheinbaum said. He described Norm’s message as an attempt to “intervent” and a risk to immigration dignity.
The president is confident that her initiative will be unanimously approved in Congress and can even gain support from the opposition as a defense of national sovereignty.
CBP A lack of safeguards for an application
The DHS strategy depends not only on active messaging, but also on technical tools like the CBP One app, which is used to help immigrants prepare to enter the U.S. and now allows them to arrange appointments for voluntary deportation or asylum. However, human rights groups claim that the app promotes in advertising, lacks transparent assurances and exposes users to expedite deportation.
On the other hand, Sheinbaum’s reforms pose a dilemma for platforms like Meta and Google: How will they regulate advertising paid by Mexican foreign governments? The ban will not only affect TV attractions, but also segmented campaigns on Facebook or YouTube where DHS invests heavily.
The campaign is part of Donald Trump’s pledge to expel “millions of unincorporated persons” by 2025, which uses laws such as the Earlien Act and programs such as the termination of humanitarian parole for Cubans and Venezuelans. Although Mexico has already cooperated in driving migration movements, Neum’s rhetoric has escalated, and relations that have been weakened by trade disputes and tariff threats have been weakened.
Despite the Department of Homeland Security spending millions of dollars to deter immigration, Sheinbaum’s legal manipulation could limit future foreign campaigns. But the real impact of both sides will be measured on the digital and physical boundaries.
This story originally appeared in wired español and has been translated into Spanish.
