US Accused of Bigotry Over Sikh Poster Calling For Self-Deportation

September

2026

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sparked a controversy over social media posters promoting the US President Donald Trump administration’s self-deportation campaign. The poster, shared amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, carries an image of a brown-bearded man wearing a head covering, facing a ‘Transformer’ (from the popular movie franchise). The poster carries warnings—'Self-deport or find out' and 'America for Americans. Get off our roads. You don’t know how to drive, Mr Singh'. The reference to the surname Singh has drawn criticism from Indian-American and Sikh groups, who say the messaging unfairly stereotypes people of South Asian origin. DHS said the image referred specifically to truck driver Harjinder Singh, accused in a 2025 Florida crash. Critics say linking the surname Singh to alleged driving violations amounts to racial and ethnic profiling. Raman Singh Dhillon, who has worked in the trucking industry for 30 years and runs the North American Punjabi Trucking Association, said the post uses 'Singh', a common Sikh surname, as a derogatory reference to Sikh truck drivers generally, not to one particular driver. California Governor Gavin Newsom called the post 'disgusting'. DHS replied, 'Hey Gavin, YOU gave him his CDL (Commercial Driver's License), and then he killed three people with his tractor-trailer.' Democratic Senator Adam Schiff accused the administration of ‘obvious bigotry’, arguing that the campaign risked casting suspicion on millions of Americans because of their background and appearance. A Sikh advocacy group Sikh Coalition reached out to Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the US Department of Justice Harmeet Dhillon asking her to 'stand for the Sikh community...by issuing a public statement.' The owner of the 'Transformers' franchise Hasbro said it did not give the DHS permission to use the character of Optimus Prime. In India, no Sikh leader condemned the DHS post. Instead, an All India Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring up the matter with President Trump. Amid growing criticism, DHS removed the post. The episode has since become a wider debate over the use of government social-media campaigns, AI-generated imagery, and the targeting of immigrant communities (earlier coverage).