Archive · 27 Aug 2026
White House turns Magic School Bus into deportation meme
The White House used a picture from a children’s cartoon to make a joke about deporting immigrants.
It changed the cartoon’s name to “The Magic Deportation Bus.”
The picture showed cartoon characters and people whose hands were tied.
Supporters of the administration used it to promote immigration enforcement.
Many people criticized the joke as cruel and disrespectful.
The administration says it wants to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal records.
However, one report said that many people detained by immigration officials had no previous conviction or only a pending charge.
The White House has also used songs, artificial-intelligence images, and other memes to discuss deportations.
The White House altered The Magic School Bus into “The Magic Deportation Bus” to promote immigration enforcement.
The image showed Ms. Frizzle, her chameleon Liz, and five handcuffed passengers linked to an ICE operation in the Washington, D.C., region.
The post received more than 1.7 million views and drew criticism for portraying detention and deportation through a children’s franchise.
Although the administration says it prioritizes undocumented immigrants with criminal records, NBC News reported that 41% of people detained by ICE in early February 2025 had no conviction or only a pending charge.
The meme followed other uses of AI imagery, music, humor, and pop-culture references in the administration’s immigration messaging.
- Who
- The White House and Trump administration, with criticism from members of the public, foreign officials, and artists.
- What
- The White House repurposed The Magic School Bus imagery as “The Magic Deportation Bus” to promote immigration enforcement.
- When
- The post appeared during the Trump administration’s 2025 immigration crackdown; related examples were reported in February 2025.
- Where
- The image referenced an ICE operation in the Washington, D.C., region, while the broader campaign involved immigration operations across the United States.
- Why
- The administration used humor and familiar pop-culture references to promote its deportation and immigration-enforcement policies.
Critics and rights advocates
White House and administration supporters
Use of children’s entertainment
Critics and rights advocates
Critics said the image turned a children’s franchise into a celebration of detention and deportation, reducing people’s individual circumstances to cartoon props.
White House and administration supporters
The White House used the familiar characters and a rewritten opening line as humorous messaging in support of its immigration-enforcement campaign.
Who is being detained
Critics and rights advocates
Critics pointed to NBC News data reporting that 41% of people detained by ICE in early February had no prior conviction or only a pending charge, complicating the administration’s stated focus on people with criminal records.
White House and administration supporters
The administration has said it would prioritize undocumented immigrants with criminal records for deportation.
Tone of immigration messaging
Critics and rights advocates
Critics described the administration’s memes, music, and videos as cruel, degrading, or dehumanizing; Sabrina Carpenter called the use of her song “evil and disgusting.”
White House and administration supporters
The White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and ICE continued using humor, cultural references, and popular music to draw attention to enforcement actions.
- Altered title
- “The Magic Deportation Bus”
- Original program
- The Magic School Bus
- Reported views
- More than 1.7 million
- Referenced operation
- An ICE operation in the Washington, D.C., region
- Detention data
- NBC News reported that 41% of people detained by ICE in the first two weeks of February 2025 had no previous criminal conviction or only a pending charge.
- Administration position
- The administration has repeatedly said it would prioritize undocumented immigrants with criminal records for deportation.
- International criticism
- Guatemala’s foreign ministry called an earlier deportation-themed post discriminatory and xenophobic.