The videos, he said, are consistent with the Trump administration’s embrace of Christian nationalism. Church leaders are called to resist this brand of Christianity, Rowe said.
“This twisting of Scripture to target the most vulnerable, to target immigrants, is antithetical to any kind of Christianity that I or our church would recognize,” he said.
On July 7, the agency posted a different video on X — one that was subsequently deleted — showing Border Patrol agents at work with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. In the background, a voice says, “Here’s a Bible verse I think about sometimes. Many times. It goes ‘Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying ‘Whom shall I send and who will go for us?’ I said, ‘Here am I, send me,’” quoting a portion of Isaiah 6:8. The video, which is still on the agency’s Facebook account, repurposes a biblical passage in which the Prophet Isaiah expresses his readiness to serve as God’s messenger to the people of Judah and Israel.
In another video, announcing the U.S. Coast Guard’s Force Design 2028, a plan that aims to protect the country from attacks of “nations and criminals that seek to sabotage infrastructure,” Noem is seen addressing Coast Guard officers at a command station in Bahrain, saying: “We all know that Scriptures tell us that without a vision, the people perish. You are people who are stepping into a time of consequence. You will be people of significance,” quoting a portion of Proverbs 29:18.
DHS videos have also summoned religious imagery, specifically “manifest destiny” paintings that promote the idea that American colonists received a divine mandate to expand across North America. On July 14, DHS posted Morgan Weistling’s 2020 painting “A Prayer for a New Life,” showing a white pioneer couple holding an infant as a prairie expands behind them. The post’s caption urged viewers to remember their “homeland’s heritage.” And on July 23, the agency posted John Gast’s 1872 painting “American Progress,” which allegorizes the concept of manifest destiny, depicting a blond woman floating through the sky and holding a schoolbook as scores of pioneers follow her, running after Native Americans fleeing.
In early August, the agency announced it lifted the age limit for ICE agents and offered new hires a maximum signing bonus of $50,000, student loan forgiveness options and enhanced retirement benefits. The hiring package was made possible by the large federal budget bill passed in July. The agency said on Aug. 12 it had received more than 100,000 applications and celebrated the dedication of “patriotic Americans who want to join ICE and help remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from the United States.”
DHS didn’t respond to an RNS request for comment.
Though it’s unclear whether faith leaders are involved in the production of social media videos quoting the Bible, the clips align with DHS’ stated intention of letting Christian faith guide its work. Noem, a conservative Christian who served as South Dakota governor from 2019 to 2025, has long emphasized how her Christian faith influenced her political decisions.
