“Cheap trolling”: Border Patrol uses Coldplay Couple meme to mock undocumented migrants

https://www.dailydot.com/viral-politics/border-patrol-coldplay-couple/

Lindsey Weedston Jul 25, 2025 · 2 mins read
“Cheap trolling”: Border Patrol uses Coldplay Couple meme to mock undocumented migrants
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U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) altered the viral Coldplay Couple video into another form of cruelty against undocumented immigrants. The clip, posted by Fox News on Friday, had two border patrol agents wander in front of the kiss cam and shrug like they were confused about what their lives have become.

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Fox News fans approved, of course, while others decried the taunting of a vulnerable population suffering under increasingly horrific anti-migrant policies.

CBP’s taxpayer-funded trolling campaign continues

On July 25, Fox News posted an eight-second video on X showing the viral moment from the Coldplay concert that caught two tech executives having an affair. The woman, Astronomer HR manager Kristin Cabot, covered her face and turned away while CEO Andy Byron ducked down.

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The original footage inspired memes about cheating last week, and now CBP is once again using an online trend to broadcast their cruelty against immigrants.

“The face you make when Border Patrol walks in and you’re an illegal alien,” the caption reads.

It’s unclear why the CBP agents are looking around and shrugging in the clip. It almost seems like an accurate representation of how related agencies like ICE are failing to find more migrants to arrest in spite of hiring efforts.

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Either way, this is not the first time that CBP has used its resources to make a video threatening and taunting immigrant communities. In March, the agency published one on Instagram alongside the official White House account. To the sound of Semisonic’s “Closing Time,” footage played of agents frisking and loading up men for deportation.

In the same month, they posted an AI-generated Studio Ghibli-style image of an arrested migrant woman crying in handcuffs.

Critics blast CBP and Fox for weaponizing memes against immigrants

As usual, those on the left objected to CBP using taxpayer money for abject cruelty against people just trying to survive. It’s bad enough that this administration is targeting families and workers because, as it turns out, immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than citizens. It’s also bad enough they’re deporting people to random dangerous countries they’ve never been to.

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This latest stunt got X user @chopwaterwood calling the U.S. an “evil country full of demons.”

“Genuinely might the cringiest thing fox has posted on behalf of the government,” wrote @C_bass1234.

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Even among Trump and CBP supporters, the video didn’t always land. Some of them also think that the government could be spending its time and resources on more worthy causes.

“Stunts with Coldplay songs might grab headlines, but the real story is ICE’s $45B detention system ballooning under failed policies,” said @dogeai_gov.

“If it’s a joke, fine—if it’s cheap trolling, then no thanks,” wrote @eyup_io. “We’ve got better things to talk about than stirrin’ up trouble for a bit of online fame.”

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