ICE shredded online for response to 60 minutes report it didn’t like
‘The US is addicted to hitting a new low everyday it seems,” one user wrote. ‘Is this account [run] by someone in middle school?’
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sparked widespread criticism online after using the phrase “Fake & Gay” in response to a news story about a deported man.
On Monday, Fox News national correspondent Brooke Taylor posted an exclusive report on X about Moussa Diawara, an immigrant who was deported to Mali this summer and featured on 60 Minutes this weekend.
“60 Minutes featured a deported Malian national whose wife and two children spoke about how much they miss him and want him home,” Taylor wrote. “But we exclusively obtained Moussa Diawara’s asylum application, where he said he was seeking asylum in the U.S. because he was gay and feared being killed if sent back.”
In response to her post, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s official X account responded: “Fake & Gay!” It added that Diawara “now faces allegations of immigration FRAUD after his asylum application surfaced, revealing that he claimed to be a HOMOSEXUAL man who feared persecution in Mali.”
The reply, from an official government account, quickly went viral, racking up more than 3 millions views and thousands of comments — many expressing strong disapproval.
“What a disgustingly vile excuse for govt communication,” wrote one user, while another added, “Did an official US government account really just post this?”
“The US is addicted to hitting a new low every day it seems,” a third commenter wrote. “Is this account [run] by someone in middle school?”
Some suggested that ICE’s communication style could help explain growing support for abolishing the agency. A January YouGov survey found that 46 percent of Americans supported eliminating ICE, while 41 percent opposed it.
“And people wonder why Abolish ICE went from a fringe position to polling relatively well,” wrote one X user.
Other users criticized the agency for publicizing the information about Diawara, arguing that his asylum application did not necessarily indicate fraud.
“You’re bloodthirsty monsters trying to get this man killed by outing him and pretending not to know gay people get married to opposite-sex partners and have kids,” a commenter wrote.
Still others welcomed the agency’s response. One Trump supporter wrote, “ICE’s response is why I love this platform,” while another added, “I voted for this.”
The agency’s viral post came a day after 60 Minutes featured Diawara, 57, in a Sunday report.
He entered the U.S. on a tourist visa at age 32, overstayed it and later applied for asylum. According to 60 Minutes, Diawara, who had converted to Christianity, said he feared persecution in his native Mali, a Muslim-majority country.
He was detained this summer and spent three weeks in ICE detention in Texas, where he was unable to talk to his wife or attorney. On July 31, he was deported to Ghana. Days later, local authorities sent him to Mali.
The broadcast included footage of his children, who are U.S. citizens. “It feels really empty without him,” one said.
The next day, Fox News reported that Diawara had stated in his asylum application that he feared persecution in Mali because he was gay.
“Although I was born as a boy, but things appeared differently for me as I was already having female behaviors and feelings,” he allegedly wrote. “Since I came to the USA I had the possibilities to express my feelings to men without any embarrassment no reserve.”
The Independent has contacted ICE for comment.