The Department of Homeland Security is flatly refusing to pull down a social media video built around former Philadelphia Eagles safety Brian Dawkins after the NFL formally asked the agency to remove it, according to The Washington Sun.
The video, first posted Sunday night, splices together footage of Dawkins' signature pregame hype walks and hard-hitting tackles, set to the Korn track "Blind" and captioned "Our time has come," a nod to Dawkins' own famous pump-up chant. DHS shared it in direct response to news coverage of a migrant caravan making its way toward the U.S. border.
NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy confirmed to Forbes that the league had formally asked DHS to take the video down. The agency's answer came in the form of a meme: DHS general counsel James Percival responded by posting an image of Bugs Bunny smugly saying "No."
It's not the first time the Trump administration has repurposed sports and pop culture footage to push its immigration messaging, having previously layered NFL highlight clips over footage of U.S. military strikes in Iran.
Dawkins, a Hall of Fame safety known for his bone-jarring hits during his decade-plus Eagles career, famously nicknamed himself "Weapon X" after the X-Men character Wolverine, complete with a habit of crawling onto the field on all fours before games. DHS spokesperson Chandler Rebel leaned into the nickname when pressed for comment.
"DHS is playing lockdown defense at the border. We will use every Weapon at our disposal, from A to X, to keep Americans safe," Rebel said.
Rebel confirmed the agency is actively monitoring a migrant caravan but offered no further details. The group, which calls itself "Fe y Esperanza," meaning Faith and Hope, has swelled to more than 600 people since departing Honduras on September 20, picking up additional migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador and Haiti as it moves north through Mexico on foot. DHS has warned that anyone crossing into the U.S. illegally will face arrest and deportation.