WASHINGTON, D.C. The American Sikh Council (ASC) has condemned the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s “Mr. Singh” social media campaign, warning that its imagery and language risk encouraging prejudice against Sikh and South Asian communities.
In a statement, the council said government messaging linking a widely used name and a person’s perceived ethnicity with dangerous driving could stigmatize entire communities.
The controversy centres on an AI-generated, Transformers-style poster posted by DHS on X on September 9, 2026. It depicted a brown-skinned, bearded man confronting a DHS-branded Transformer and included the words: “America for Americans. G et off our roads; you don’t know how to drive, Mr. Singh.” The campaign drew criticism from Sikh and Hindu advocacy organisations. (The Indian Express)
According to the ASC statement, a related DHS video highlighted immigrant truck drivers involved in crashes and promoted a hotline for reporting alleged immigration and commercial driver’s licence violations.
The council acknowledged that highway safety and immigration enforcement are legitimate government responsibilities. However, it argued that using “Singh” alongside imagery portraying a South Asian man as a dangerous driver risks associating religious and ethnic identity with criminality or incompetence.
“Singh” is widely used among Sikhs and also by people of other backgrounds, the organisation noted.
The ASC said the messaging was particularly troubling given the discrimination Sikh Americans have experienced since the September 11, 2001 attacks. It warned that official communications reinforcing stereotypes about turbans, beards and perceived ethnicity could contribute to harassment, fear and exclusion.
The council also called for the debate over immigrant truck drivers to be guided by reliable evidence rather than broad assumptions.
Its statement cited a California Department of Motor Vehicles analysis covering 2022–2024, which it said found lower crash involvement per licensed driver among temporary legal-resident commercial licence holders than among U.S.-citizen licence holders. The statement acknowledged that the comparison did not establish causation or account for every relevant factor, including miles driven.
The ASC criticised the use of taxpayer-funded communications that it said could fuel hostility towards American citizens because of their identity. It urged elected officials, federal agencies, community leaders and Americans across political affiliations to address the implications of the campaign.
Public safety, the council said, must be pursued through fair enforcement, reliable evidence and equal treatment, without stigmatizing people because of their name, religion, ethnicity or appearance.
