The Department of Homeland Security is refusing a request from the National Football League to remove a promotional video that used footage of former Philadelphia Eagles safety Brian Dawkins without his permission.
DHS posted the video Sunday, splicing together clips of Dawkins’ pregame hype routines and some of his hardest hits from his playing career, set to the Korn song “Blind.” The post was captioned, “Our time has come,” and framed as a statement of the department’s readiness as a migrant caravan moves through Mexico toward the U.S. border.
The NFL objected the following day. “The league has requested that DHS take down the video,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told reporters Monday.
Dawkins, a nine-time Pro Bowler, also pushed back publicly, releasing a video statement saying he had not authorized use of his name or likeness. “Take a deep breath,” he said. “Y’all be blessed.” In a separate social media post, he wrote that he had “not given permission to anyone other than those I currently do business with to use my NIL.”
Despite the objections, DHS has declined to take the video down. According to The Hill, the department told reporters it intends to keep using every available tool to prevent illegal entry into the country. “DHS is playing lockdown defense at the border. We will use every Weapon at our disposal, from A to X, to keep Americans safe,” a DHS spokesperson said — an apparent reference to Dawkins’ playing nickname, “Weapon X.”
DHS general counsel James Percival was more blunt, posting a meme of Bugs Bunny mouthing the word “No” in response to the takedown request.
The Caravan Behind the Video
The video was tied to a migrant caravan called Fe y Esperanza, or Faith and Hope, which left Honduras on September 20 and has grown to more than 600 people from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Ecuador and Haiti. The group resumed walking north from Tapachula, in southern Mexico, on Sunday night.
U.S. officials say Border Patrol is tracking the caravan’s movement with foreign partners, though it remains far from the U.S. border for now.
White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Newsweek the administration’s message to the caravan is unambiguous. “You will not be allowed into our country,” she said. “Our border is closed to lawbreakers. President Trump delivered the most secure border in history and has had 16 months of ZERO releases at the border. The days of catch and release are over.”
“Any illegal aliens who pay cartels to smuggle them in the United States should expect the same outcome: arrest, prosecution where appropriate, and immediate deportation,” Bis added.
Large migrant caravans were common during the Biden administration, often forming in Central America and heading toward the U.S. border, with many migrants processed and released pending asylum hearings rather than turned away outright. Administration officials point to the current policy, including a sharp drop in border releases, as evidence of a different approach.
