Donald Trump has prioritized making America immigrant-free amid his plans to make the nation great again.
But whatever he’s been doing is apparently still not enough, as ICE is now thought to be using NFL and college football games to attract numbers.
The agency was recently said to have a wild Super Bowl plot and confirmed they will be at the game in February, but they won’t be there to watch. In the meantime, they’re trying to recruit local officers who aren’t happy with their cities’ restrictions on immigration enforcement, and they’re paying hundreds of thousands per ad, totaling over $6.5 million.
The ads have aired in select metropolitan areas around the U.S., including Chicago, Seattle, and Atlanta.
“You took an oath to protect and serve, to keep your family, your city, safe,” it says. “But in sanctuary cities, you’re ordered to stand down while dangerous illegals walk free.”
According to The Associated Press, ICE has forked out $6.5 million on the 30-second spots just last week, which is just a fraction of the $76.5 billion budget the Trump Administration requested for the agency.
Donald Trump’s ICE Budget Targeting Football Games?
Of note, according to the Daily Mail, much of that money has been spent on buying airtime during NFL and college football games.=
Fans noticed the ad during a ‘Monday Night Football’ game between the Broncos and Bengals on ESPN last month.
The Mail notes that it has aired during SEC games on The Worldwide Leader in Sports and ABC, plus other networks.
According to John Ourand of Puck News, a 30-second ad during a primetime football game costs around $300,000.
The ad has also been broadcast during UFC and WWE programming.
This is even more notable given Bad Bunny’s selection as the Super Bowl Halftime show performer and what he said about ICE earlier this year.
The Puerto Rican previously revealed plans to avoid the U.S. on his tour due to fears of agents using his shows to round up Latinos, although he will make an exception for Super Bowl 60.