The Department of Homeland Security’s approach to naming immigrant enforcement operations, accompanied by a punchy, at times mocking tone in its official statements, elicits polarizing opinions: Are the names funny or offensive? Reactions often depend on political affiliation and support for the operations that largely target Black and brown communities.

The names send a message that immigrants in the U.S. are “subhuman,” Congressman Jimmy Gomez, a California Democrat, told The Associated Press.

“That is why they have those disgusting names,” said Gomez, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee. Administration officials “don’t even use that kind of language when they conduct operations across the globe dealing with some of the worst terrorists imaginable.”

But Congressman Brandon Gill believes the names demonstrate President Donald Trump is not joking about reining in illegal immigration and securing the border.

“I think all he’s doing is letting them know we continue to be serious about that,” the Texas Republican said. “We’re serious about keeping the border secure. We’re serious about deporting illegal aliens.”

What’s in a name?

Historically, names for delicate U.S. military operations have not been catchy proper nouns but something benign. In war time, operation titles were names that could easily clue people in without drawing suspicion if overheard by spies or seen on paper, said Michael O’Hanlon, director of research in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution and the author of several books on U.S. military history and defense strategy. He cited World War II-era plans such as Operation Market Garden and Operation Torch as examples.

In the modern era, code names for operations are a chance for an administration to project an image of how a mission is going. For example, President George W. Bush often built operation names on themes of freedom. Operation names are also an opportunity to be a “victory dance.” The Trump administration named its lightning bombing campaign on Iran in 2025 Operation Midnight Hammer.

“Sometimes when they know they’re going to win and they want to brandish their political benefit, they’ll sometimes use sort of a vainglorious name like ‘absolute resolve,’ which is just meant to convey this bravado,” O’Hanlon said. “But, if you’re ever unsure of the prospects, you try to use a little bit more generic or nondescript name so that nobody can figure out what the mission’s going to look like if they happen to hear about it beforehand.”

In the case of recent immigration raids, the names communicate “their motivation, their purpose, and therefore, their justification,” he added.

The administration has also given immigration detention facilities the same treatment, including “Speedway Slammer” in Indiana, “Cornhusker Clink” in Nebraska, and “Alligator Alcatraz ” and “Deportation Depot” in Florida. They’ve been the basis of Internet memes and online merchandise.

“It seems like they’re just trying to market their detention centers in a trolling type of way,” said Hector Diaz, a Miami immigration attorney who has represented over two dozen Hispanic clients detained in Florida.

‘Racist and degrading’

Operation Catch of the Day, which wrapped up in Maine last month, immediately drew backlash from Democratic lawmakers when the name was first announced. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree called the branding “racist and degrading” to Mainers in general and the state’s immigrant communities in particular.

“It’s a sick joke,” Pingree said in a social media post.

Shenna Bellows, Maine’s Democratic secretary of state who is also running for governor, denounced “the grotesquely named operation,” warning the Trump administration’s actions and messaging have chilled business and civic life in the state.

“When ICE agents are patrolling the streets and arresting and imprisoning people, wrongly, then people are afraid to go out,” Bellows told AP.

State Democratic Sen. Joe Baldacci agreed: “This isn’t a special on a restaurant menu. This is people’s lives.”

Supporters argue flippant names show Trump is serious

Immigration operation names have also received backlash for taking inspiration from pop culture. In November, the Trump administration played on the popular 1952 children’s book “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White when it launched an immigration sweep in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the same title. Martha White said the author, her grandfather, would have hated the reference because he “believed in the rule of law and due process.”

The names persevere, even after some Trump officials signaled federal agents’ conduct could be restrained following the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota and allegations of other misconduct by federal immigration officers.

Some of the president’s supporters have dismissed criticism of the Trump administration’s rhetoric as sidestepping the substance of the immigration debate.

Jason Savage, executive director of the Maine Republican Party, said in an email that “to whine about the name of the operation is an absurd distraction from the absolute disaster these same Democrats have allowed to occur across Maine.”

During Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ Maine State of the State address a week ago, she slammed ICE agents for trying to “intimidate and silence” communities. Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham, a Republican, responded by calling for greater support for longtime residents over newer arrivals to the state.

“There was a lot of care and support, of course, around new Mainers, but the one thing I don’t see is people standing up for old Mainers and standing up for the people of Maine that have been here and are from here,” Faulkingham said last month during the Maine operation.

Congressional Democrats have promised investigations into the conduct of and potential abuses by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers, and have vowed to investigate the agency’s rhetoric and social media posts should they win control of either chamber this year.

The operation names are only adding to the damage caused by the administration’s “unconstitutional racial profiling and reckless, unaccountable enforcement tactics,” said Debu Gandhi, senior director of immigration policy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.

“America can have a secure border and effective immigration enforcement without the type of lawless cruelty and chaos we’ve seen from Trump,” Gandhi said.