Late last year, the lovely folks over at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apparently had to be reminded that humans are, in fact, not fish. “Whether an illegal alien or alleged (or even convicted) criminal, all are human, and should be treated humanely,” stated an October 2017 email from the former director of the agency’s media division. “We must guard against using language that detracts from that inherent dignity and respect.”
The email, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOAI) request by watchdog group American Oversight, was sent to employees in response to a CBP tweet boasting about the arrests of four men. The tweet, featuring their mugshots and names, was captioned with the hashtag, “Catch of the Day.”
"I understand that social media is much more conversational than traditional media and often uses creative word play to attract readers or followers, or better, re-tweets of our messages,” the email continued. "However, this is where we need to ensure we're not making light of individuals' circumstance.”
Perhaps this email should have been forwarded to the tweeter-in-chief as well, who last May claimed that immigrants being deported “aren’t people,” but instead “animals.” American Oversight said that “the biased, propagandizing nature of combining the hashtag with pictures of detained persons is particularly disturbing in light of recent records.”