A photograph taken during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest in San Diego has gone viral, drawing widespread attention online for reasons unrelated to the suspect taken into custody, as reported by The New York Post.

The arrest involved 42-year-old Diego Hernandez, an illegal alien from Mexico with a history of multiple drunk driving convictions and repeated unlawful re-entry into the United States.

Hernandez was taken into custody on Saturday after local law enforcement in San Diego alerted federal authorities, according to ICE officials. He is expected to be deported to Mexico.

What gained unexpected traction was the official photo shared by ICE’s San Diego office on X.

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The image showed Hernandez in shorts and a South Park T-shirt standing beside a female ICE agent. The agent, with her back turned to the camera, was dressed in black pants and had her hair flipped over her shoulder. The post has been viewed nearly 25 million times.

ICE confirmed that arrest photos are typically staged so agents’ faces are concealed, citing security concerns. In this instance, the staging sparked significant commentary.

Social media users questioned whether the photo was intentionally designed to attract attention.

One user wrote, “Am I f**king crazy, or is this them trying to humiliate a random immigrant and using an ICE agent’s fat delicious a** just to make sure it gains traction.”

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Another posted, “The Cartman shirt, the ICE agent facing the wall for no reason other than to show her a**, this is art. The parallels one could draw from this are endless. Satire is dead.”

Other users offered similar remarks. One joked, “Anyone have the federal agents @.”

Another asked, “If I renounce my citizenship, does that mean they will send her… to my house? asking for a friend.”

Despite the viral reactions, ICE underscored the seriousness of the arrest. In a statement, the agency said:

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“ICE San Diego arrested Diego Hernandez, 42, an illegal alien from Mexico with multiple convictions for DUI and repeated illegal re-entry into the U.S. He chose to break our laws again and again. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal—because public safety comes first.”

The case highlights both the growing visibility of law enforcement operations online and the sometimes unexpected way images circulate on social media.

While the viral discussion centered on the photo itself, ICE maintained its focus on Hernandez’s criminal record and the legal process surrounding his deportation.

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