• Hiroshi Nagai discovered unauthorized use of Beachcomber series artwork on New Year’s Eve
• Department vows to continue using artists’ work despite repeated copyright complaints
• Community note confirms illustration used without permission from 78-year-old creator

WASHINGTON (TDR) — Japanese artist Hiroshi Nagai has accused the Department of Homeland Security of using his artwork without permission in a controversial social media post depicting “America After 100 Million Deportations,” the latest in a series of copyright disputes involving the Trump administration.

The 78-year-old illustrator discovered the unauthorized use of his work from the Beachcomber series when DHS posted the modified image on X on New Year’s Eve. The post featured a classic American car parked on an idyllic beach with palm trees, captioned “The peace of a nation no longer besieged by the third world.”

“The image is being used without permission,” Nagai wrote to his followers on X, asking, “What should I do about this?” His complaint garnered over 5 million views as the controversy spread across social media platforms.

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An X community note later appeared beneath the DHS post confirming that it uses Nagai’s artwork without permission and noting that the artist himself posted about the unauthorized use.

DHS Defends Practice

Despite the complaint, a DHS spokesperson told The Daily Beast the department has no intention of changing course.

“DHS will continue using every tool at its disposal to keep the American people informed as our agents work to Make America Safe Again,” the spokesperson said, suggesting the agency plans to keep appropriating artists’ work regardless of permission.

The “100 million deportations” reference sparked additional controversy beyond copyright concerns. With approximately 47 million foreign-born people in the United States according to census data, the figure suggests the administration envisions deporting tens of millions of U.S.-born citizens.

“This is absolutely insane Nazi propaganda, posted by the US government,” said Ben Norton, editor of the Geopolitical Economic Report. “It makes it clear that the Trump administration’s mass deportation drive is not actually about ‘illegal immigration.'”

Pattern of Unauthorized Use

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The incident marks the latest example of DHS appropriating creative work to promote its immigration agenda. In July, the department used a painting by Morgan Weistling depicting a white frontier family without permission.

“The recent DHS post on social media using a painting of mine was used without my permission,” Weistling wrote on his website.

The agency also faced backlash for using work by Thomas Kinkade without authorization. The Kinkade Family Foundation requested DHS remove the post.

Musicians including MGMT, Zach Bryan and Sabrina Carpenter have similarly objected to DHS appropriating their work. The agency has also used images from E.T. and South Park.

City Pop Icon

Nagai is a renowned graphic designer famous for his cover designs of city pop albums in the 1980s. His sun-drenched depictions of 1950s Americana influenced contemporary movements including vaporwave.

Born in Tokushima Prefecture in 1947, Nagai gained international recognition for his work on Eiichi Ohtaki’s iconic album “A Long Vacation.”

Critics noted the irony of DHS using a Japanese artist’s imagined vision of America to promote policies targeting immigrants from “the third world.”

Will the pattern of copyright violations force DHS to change its social media practices, or will the agency continue appropriating creative work without consequence?

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