A doctored photo from 2018 showing a man in a 'Latinos for Trump' shirt being apprehended by ICE agents is circulating online, misleading people into believing it is a current event. The image is a manipulated version of a real photo taken at a meat processing plant in Ohio.
A fabricated image circulating on social media depicting a man in a 'Latinos for Trump' shirt being apprehended by ICE officers is gaining traction online, despite being altered from a genuine photograph taken five years ago. The original image, captured on June 19, 2018, outside the Fresh Mark meat plant in Salem, Ohio, by U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and later distributed by Getty Images, shows three agents wearing Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) vests detaining a man in a plain gray T-shirt. The fabricated version presents a strikingly similar scene, except the man's T-shirt now displays a 'Latinos for Trump 2024' logo, and ICE agents are depicted grabbing his arms. Notably, both ICE and HSI operate under the Department of Homeland Security, and Donald Trump held the presidency during the time the original photo was taken.The doctored image, recently surfacing on platforms like Instagram and X, has misled many into believing it depicts a current event. Millions of shares across various online platforms have amplified its spread. While the identity of the individual who altered the original photograph remains unclear, the manipulated image possesses a distinct political cartoon aesthetic, prompting a surge in online commentary, both supporting and opposing immigration and deportation policies. This incident coincides with a recent shift in Latino voter demographics. Despite Trump's history of inflammatory rhetoric regarding immigrants, characterizing Mexicans as 'in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc.' and claiming they 'poison the blood' of the country, a November 2024 Associated Press poll reveals that he secured 46% of the Latino vote, marking a significant increase from 35% four years prior. Experts attribute this surge to the economic concerns of Latinos, with priorities shifting away from immigration issues. Andrés Quintero, a political science professor at Evergreen Valley College, emphasizes that the economy, rather than immigration, holds greater significance for Latinos. He notes that as inflation rises and purchasing power diminishes among working-class and impoverished Latinos, they are drawn to candidates offering solutions to their economic woes. Mike Madrid, a national political expert specializing in Latino demographics, points to the growing number of multi-generational Latinos in the United States, stating that third and fourth-generation Latinos are less connected to the immigration experience. He argues that the continued emphasis on immigration as a key issue, particularly by the Democratic party, may be alienating these voters and pushing them towards economic populism, which Trump embodies. In a related development, Fresh Mark, the meat processing company featured in the original photograph, recently agreed to pay $3.7 million in a settlement stemming from a hiring manager's involvement in a scheme to steal identities of U.S. citizens and provide them to job applicants at their plants. The Department of Justice initiated the investigation, with HSI agents arresting several Fresh Mark employees who utilized stolen identities between 2013 and 2018, the year the photograph was taken