Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security posted a Halo meme as an ICE recruitment ad, likening immigrants to violent aliens. Microsoft has declined to comment on the twisted rhetoric, but some of the franchise’s former developers voiced their thoughts.
The meme posted on X on October 27 shows Master Chief and a fellow Spartan in a Warthog with a call to “DESTROY THE FLOOD.” It was a reference to an alien species that serves as one of the sci-fi shooter’s main antagonists; an infectious superorganism that consumes and destroys everything it touches. “Finishing this fight,” wrote DHS above the recruitment ad.
In an interview with Game File, Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto called the post “absolutely abhorrent” and added, “It really makes me sick seeing Halo co-opted like this.” Franchise veteran Jamie Griesemer, who was lead designer on both Halo 2 and Halo 3, was similarly outraged.
“Using Halo imagery in a call to ‘destroy’ people because of their immigration status goes way too far, and ought to offend every Halo fan, regardless of political orientation,” he told Game File. “I personally find it despicable. The Flood are evil space zombie parasites and are not an allegory to any group of people.“
Pushing back against some fans claiming the original Halo games were a post-9/11 parable for fighting an army of invading religious zealots, Griesemer said it wasn’t an allegory for any specific religion or political movement. “The Prophets are not Popes, the Grunts are not Wahhabis, and the Flood are definitely not illegal immigrants,” he told Game File. “The Master Chief is not a Christ figure and Cortana is not the Virgin Mary, I guess?”
Halo‘s collision with the Trump administration’s anti-immigration crackdown, which includes “lawless” ICE raids in cities like Chicago, comes as Microsoft is trying to get fans hyped for a remake of the original game coming next year that will also serve as the franchise’s debut on PlayStation. At the same time, the tech giant is pledging support for Trump’s White House demolition and the building of a new ballroom as it seemingly tries to curry favor for government contracts and regulatory approvals related to its spiraling AI investments.
