(NewsNation) — Once the face of war posters, Uncle Sam has symbolized American patriotism for more than a century. Now, the Department of Homeland Security has used the iconic imagery to urge Americans to report what the Trump administration calls “illegal aliens.”
The agency posted a cartoon graphic on its official page on the social platform X, depicting Uncle Sam nailing a poster that reads “Help Your Country… and Yourself…”
The image also reads, “REPORT ALL FOREIGN INVADERS” with the phone number for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The DHS wrote in the caption, “Help your country locate and arrest illegal aliens.”
The post received both support and criticism in the comments.
“This is America. We won’t apologize for making America great again. Don’t like the poster? Time to leave America,” one user wrote. “I will report and help remove illegals.”
Another user responded, “Nazis had similar posters for the Jews.”
According to the Library of Congress, Uncle Sam was created for the July 6, 1916, issue of Leslie’s Weekly and was later popularized in Puck Magazine’s cartoons. He was used to encourage men to enlist in the military and to encourage civilian support during World War I. In 1950, he became an official national symbol of the United States.