At first glance, there may not appear to be anything unusual about the social media posts that are part of the ongoing recruitment drive by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

But to observers of the far-right, and to members of the far-right themselves, there is something else that is recognizable in the language of the posts.

On Aug 11, 2025, ICE posted an image on its socials of Uncle Sam at a crossroads. It included the tag line “Which way, American man?”

The post echoed a meme popular among right-wing influencers, who use the phrase “Which way, Western man?” to illustrate a choice between an image meant to represent liberal values and an image representing their own preferred option.

But the phrase itself is taken from the title of a 700-page antisemitic nonfiction book written by William Gayley Simpson and published by a neo-Nazi press in the late 1970s.

The book has long been a favourite among white supremacists.