The US Department of Homeland Security removed an AI-generated “Mr Singh” deportation poster after Sikh and Indian-American groups called it racist; DHS said the image referred specifically to truck driver Harjinder Singh, accused in a 2025 Florida crash that killed three people.The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has removed a controversial AI-generated poster telling “Mr Singh” to “self-deport” after the campaign triggered accusations of racism and racial profiling from Sikh, Hindu and Indian-American groups.The poster, shared on the DHS’s official X account, showed a brown-bearded man wearing a head covering facing a DHS-branded version of Optimus Prime from the Transformers franchise. It carried the message: “America for Americans. Get off our roads; you don’t know how to drive, Mr Singh.” Another image featured the words “Self-deport or find out.”This may be the laziest lie you’ve ever told and that’s saying something. https://t.co/JHl5nYZ9il pic.twitter.com/hU783FJsb9— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) September 11, 2026Why Harjinder Singh became part of the controversyThe DHS later said the man depicted in the poster was not intended to represent an unidentified Sikh or Indian truck driver but Harjinder Singh, an Indian-origin commercial truck driver.Singh was arrested in August 2025 after a crash on Florida’s Turnpike in St Lucie County. Authorities alleged that he attempted an illegal U-turn at an unauthorised location, causing a minivan to collide with his tractor-trailer. Three people in the minivan were killed. Singh faces three counts of vehicular homicide and pleaded not guilty.They  also said Singh had entered the US illegally in 2018 and had obtained a commercial driver’s licence in California.The DHS used the case while promoting its wider campaign against immigrant commercial drivers and alleged problems involving improperly obtained commercial driving licences.‘Racist propaganda’, critics sayThe poster drew sharp criticism because “Singh” is a common surname among Sikhs and is also widely used by people of Indian origin in the US. Sikh and Hindu advocacy organisations argued that using the surname alongside an image of a turbaned or bearded South Asian man risked portraying an entire community as dangerous or incompetent drivers.California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office called the campaign “racist propaganda targeting the Sikh community.” Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi also criticised the message, saying the government should not use its power to demonise people based on their faith, heritage or identity.The Hindu American Foundation and Sikh Coalition were among the organisations that condemned the campaign and called it racist and discriminatory.DHS hits back at criticsThe controversy escalated when DHS responded to its critics on X.Replying to Newsom, the department pointed to Singh’s case and accused the California administration of having issued his commercial driving licence. “Hey Gavin, YOU gave him his CDL, and then he killed three people with his tractor-trailer,” DHS said, accompanying the post with footage related to the crash.Democratic Senator Adam Schiff accused the administration of “obvious bigotry”, arguing that the campaign risked casting suspicion on millions of Americans because of their background and appearance.DHS rejected Schiff’s criticism, describing it as “the laziest lie you’ve ever told.”‘Transformers’ adds another layer to the rowThe DHS campaign also used characters from the Transformers franchise. In one video, Megatron was shown negotiating for the release of truck drivers, including Harjinder Singh, Rajinder Kumar, Bekzhan Beishekeev, Akhror Bozorov and Jasveer Singh, whom DHS associated with road accidents or other offences.Another graphic showed Optimus Prime confronting the brown-bearded man with the words “Self-deport or find out.”The use of Transformers imagery itself became controversial. Reports said Hasbro, which owns the Transformers franchise, objected to the use of its characters without permission.Poster removed after backlashDHS subsequently removed the “Mr Singh” post amid the growing criticism. The episode has since become a wider debate over the use of government social-media campaigns, AI-generated imagery and the targeting of immigrant communities.The department maintains that the campaign was aimed at undocumented or improperly licensed commercial drivers and that its reference to “Mr Singh” was linked to a specific case. Critics, however, argue that the presentation — particularly the use of a common Sikh surname and South Asian imagery — risked turning an individual criminal allegation into a stereotype about an entire community.