On January 25, 2026, author David Icke claimed that because President Trump deployed ICE and is allegedly “owned by Israel,” Israel is therefore responsible for U.S. deportations. This claim has been echoed by other online figures, like Islamist streamer Hasan Piker, who asserted that “ICE uses Israeli spyware and is actively trying to deport green card holders and students for speaking out against Israel.” Additional social media commentators have alleged Israeli control over ICE because the agency maintains an office in Tel Aviv. These accusations clash with conspiracies on the Right that Jews orchestrate mass migration into the United States. The claims are false and collapse under minimal scrutiny.
No foreign government directs ICE operations. There is no evidence that Israel or any other foreign state does so. ICE’s Tel Aviv presence is a standard law-enforcement liaison office. ICE maintains a Homeland Security Investigations liaison office at the U.S. Embassy Branch in Tel Aviv to coordinate with Israeli authorities on transnational crime. ICE maintains similar offices in dozens of countries worldwide.
Foreign-made tools do not imply foreign control. ICE has contracted with Israeli cybersecurity firms Cellebrite and Paragon, as well as with Canadian company Magnet Forensics. No one alleges that Canada controls ICE. The use of foreign technology for specific investigative purposes does not constitute foreign command of an entire federal agency.
The claim that President Trump is “owned by Israel” is false. President Trump has repeatedly imposed U.S. demands on Israel in both domestic and foreign policy matters. Senior U.S. officials have explicitly rejected the allegation. On October 30, 2025, Vice President JD Vance stated: “Israel is not controlling this president.” He explained that the Trump administration’s “America First” approach enables Washington to apply leverage to Israel, underscoring that power flows from the U.S. to Israel, not the reverse.
U.S. immigration enforcement is irrelevant to Israeli interests. There is no clear strategic, political, or economic benefit to Israel from American deportation policy. No one is being deported for criticizing Israel. Contrary to Hasan Piker’s claim, deportations are not being carried out for “speaking out against Israel.” His allegation appears to reference Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-Algerian migrant who helped lead violent campus actions at Columbia University in support of Hamas, a designated terror group. He also allegedly made false statements on his green card application.
ICE predates Trump and operates under every administration. ICE was established in 2003 under President George W. Bush, and has carried out deportations under every president since. If Israel were “behind deportations,” one would have to explain why this policy persists across administrations with very different relationships to Israel.
Trump’s immigration policy is fully explained by domestic politics. President Trump campaigned explicitly on aggressive immigration enforcement, and his voter base strongly supports it. There is no need to invoke foreign manipulation to explain a policy he promised, ran on, and is now implementing.
Matt Walsh observed, “Everything has to go back to Israel. Everything, all the time. It always comes down to Israel. If you don’t criticize Israel 24/7 like they do, if you don’t make everything about Israel all the time, then you’re not patriotic. You’re not sufficiently ‘America First.’ If you’re not thinking all the time, every day, every hour, every moment of the day about another country, which is Israel, then you’re not ‘America First.'”
Charlie Kirk stated, “If there’s anti-semitism, it’s the Jews. If there’s no anti-semitism, it’s the Jews. We send money to Hamas, it’s the Jews. We send money to Israel, it’s the Jews. So at some point, you have to tell me they basically control everything, whether it hurts them or it helps them.”
The claim that Israel is behind U.S. deportations is false. It relies on tired old tropes about secret control, ignores basic facts about how the U.S. government works, and collapses under minimal scrutiny. ICE enforces American law, answers to American officials, and has done so under every president for decades. Using foreign-made software or maintaining overseas liaison offices does not amount to foreign command. By that logic, Canada, Germany, and Japan would also “run” ICE. No one is being deported for opposing Israel, and there is zero evidence that Israel benefits from or directs U.S. immigration enforcement. The conspiracy theory reveals more about those promoting it than about any actual Israeli influence over American domestic policy.
