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Theo von claims DHS used his video in a deportation meme edit without his approval, demands to get paid

After its Pokémon stint, the DHS has dropped yet another deportation-themed video, this time featuring Theo Von. The comedian isn't having it.
posted by Akanksha Mishra
Wednesday 9/24/2025 at 8:09AM EDT
  • LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 07: Theo Von attends the UFC 310 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
    LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 07: Theo Von attends the UFC 310 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

    On Tuesday night, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a meme video on its X handle, which opened with a short clip of Theo Won. In the clip, the comedian said: "Heard you got deported, dude... bye!"

    Further, the clip revealed that more than 2 million illegal immigrants in the country were deported in the last 250 days. 1.6 million of them self-deported, while the remaining 400K immigrants were caught and deported by the ICE agents. 

    ​The tweet, which had gone viral with more than 7 million views, was retweeted by the comedian himself. Von wrote in the caption that he hadn't approved of his words to be used in the clip, while adding that his thoughts on deportation were "alot more nuanced" than what DHS' clip suggested. 

    Theo Von also asked DHS to both take the clip down as well as provide him with compensation for its unapproved usage. 

    The comedian, who has not clarified his stance on the ongoing immigrant deportation in the country, has called himself a political centrist in the past. 

    In 2024, Von allegedly made a $125K bet on Trump winning the presidential elections. He was also one of the podcasters who attended Trump's inaugural ceremony, aligingin with his statement of putting America first.

    Before Theo Von, DHS used Pokémon in another deportation video 

    ​

    DHS' Theo Von video comes just a day after the department posted a video that featured the Pokémon theme song, which played in the background with multiple videos of ICE officers catching and arresting illegal immigrants across the country.

    Towards the end of the clip - which was intertwined with occasional snippets from the cartoon show - they put up a showcase of ICE's Worst of the Worst displayed as Pokémon cards. 

    The cards featured the names and pictures of immigrants with a criminal history, with crimes ranging from fraud, burglary, and pedophilia, to homicide and manslaughter.

    Besides the ongoing deportation raids, the DHS has also proposed a new system for the H-1B overhaul. According to Business Today, the system it has proposed favors candidates with better-paying jobs for the H-1B visa program instead of the current, random lottery system.

    It has also proposed that high-wage immigrants should have multiple chances into the lottery system than those who are working at low wages. 

    Per the media outlet, if the new system is accepted, the chances of immigrants with Level I wages getting visa will decrease by 48%, while those with Level IV wages are 107% more likely to get it.

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    TOPICS: Theo Von


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