The blend of nostalgia, aggression and calls to "Save America," "Secure the Golden Age" and "Protect. Serve. Deport." evoke a nationalist, white-centered view of who the American homeland is for, said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism.
The images conjure a narrative that "we had a wonderful white civilization and culture that has been decimated by these people who don't belong here, who just happen to not be white people for the most part," Beirich said. They contribute to the idea that "those people are violent invaders who need to be repelled by military force, need to be dragged in the streets, taken away, put in vans, removed — if we want that white culture to ever flourish again," she said.
She added that with posts like these, DHS is "just saying the quiet part out loud, and it's the sort of baldness of doing it that's amazing to me."
In response to NPR's questions about the agency's social media posts, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin called the inquiry "deranged and delusional." She continued: "If the media needs a history lesson on the brave men and women who blazed the trails, forded the rivers, and forged this Republic from the sweat of their brow, we are happy to send them a history textbook."
She added, "This administration is unapologetically proud of American history and American heritage. Get used to it."