You’re not imagining things if your favorite playlist gets interrupted by a voice urging you to “fulfill your mission” and help remove undocumented immigrants. The Department of Homeland Security has launched an aggressive ad campaign flooding streaming services with immigration enforcement messages and it’s costing taxpayers millions.
According to Rolling Stone, recent data shows DHS has spent more than $6.5 million since March 2025 across platforms like Meta, Google, YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify. On Meta alone, DHS dropped $2.8 million for both English and Spanish-language ads, while ICE-specific recruitment campaigns added another $500,000 since August.
The spending didn’t slow during the government shutdown. In fact, DHS increased its YouTube budget from $292,000 in September to $332,000 in just three weeks of October. Spanish-language ads promoting “self-deportation” ran across YouTube and Google, totaling nearly $3 million.
Some streaming users are pushing back. Spotify received just $74,000, but the message hit hard enough for longtime listeners to cancel subscriptions. Others voiced concerns that ad targeting may be profiling users based on language preferences in their music choices.
Hulu, Max, and YouTube have also hosted these ads, which often target law enforcement in sanctuary cities. Despite public outcry, DHS defends the campaign as vital to national security and claims it’s already drawn over 150,000 job applicants.
