The Pokémon Company says it didn't give ICE permission to use theme song in deportation video

“We are aware of a recent video posted by the Department of Homeland Security that includes imagery and language associated with our brand,” The Pokémon Company said in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter. “Our company was not involved in the creation or distribution of this content, and permission was not granted for the use of our intellectual property.” 

The company has not specified whether or not it intends to pursue legal action, but its former Chief Legal Officer, Don McGowan, told IGN that he expects the company to let this “blow over in a couple of days.” “Many of their execs in the USA are on green cards,” he explained. “Even if I was still at the company I wouldn’t touch this, and I’m the most trigger-happy CLO I’ve ever met.”

The Trump administration’s DHS has developed quite a pattern of using intellectual property without permission. In August, the organization posted a video allegedly using Jay-Z’s “Public Service Announcement”  without authorization. It was removed after it reportedly received a copyright violation. This week, comedian Theo Von also complained about a DHS video that used a clip of his voice. “Yooo DHS i didnt approve to be used in this. I know you know my address so send a check,” he wrote in a since-deleted X post, per THR. “And please take this down and please keep me out of your ‘banger’ deportation videos. When it comes to immigration my thoughts and heart are a lot more nuanced than this video allows. Bye!” That video has also been removed, while the Pokémon clip remains live as of this writing.