In light of the recent protests in Portland, Oregon, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has seemingly responded with its own rather controversial clapback. Apparently, ICE agents and other federal officers arrested a Portland protester who refused to walk for some reason, so they made an example out of him by putting him on a trolley handtruck and parading him around like livestock all the way to detainment.
ICE’s official government page on X/Twitter uploaded the video on October 5, which also served as a viral promotional warning against the weekend protests in Portland. In the video, you can see the Portland protester visibly in pain, handcuffed, and spitting out saliva while being hauled on a handtruck by ICE agents. ICE also edited in “Ridin'” by Chamillionaire, which ironically is an anti-police brutality song.
ICE’s video has since gone viral with more than 12 million views with 131,000 likes, and 8,000 comments. And while many were in support of how ICE handled this particular protester, a top comment on ICE’s post has condemned the action, calling the page unprofessional, as it seemingly resorted to memes and trolling behavior when it comes to serious matters such as arrests and human rights violations.
“Government communication should inform, educate, & respect the citizenry—never bait it (with Rage Bait😡). When an institution tasked with serving the American people stoops to the tactics of online trolls, it erodes credibility, deepens division, and cheapens public discourse,” says the top X comment, further reminding people that “This is taxpayer-funded gaslighting disguised as social media strategy.”
Another top comment discusses how, in August 2025, an Israeli immigrant who was caught with a child solicitation probe got a lighter punishment and was allowed to go back to Israel.
People online are worried about ICE’s increasingly inhumane behavior
While unjust ICE arrests are nothing new, ICE bragging about treating a protester like livestock is something that has many people worried. For many, carting off another human while hog-tied like that isn’t usually what law enforcement should do; even most police officers are “decent” enough to carry their suspects like human beings instead of carting them off, or if they’re injured, using a proper stretcher to carry them.
People online have also condemned ICE as a “terrorist organization” due to the latest viral ad, “Parading captives around for propaganda purposes. ICE has become a terrorist organization on top of their usual human trafficking,” according to a Reddit user. Apart from these labels, ICE was also being compared with the Gestapo from Nazi Germany.
Meanwhile, another Reddit user has pointed out just how alarming it is for ICE and its right-wing supporters to both support Christianity and Jesus while also treating their other fellow human beings like animals, “For the party that claims to be of Christian values I wonder how they would feel showing this video to Jesus.”
