The Department of Homeland Security received a mixed response for a viral promotional video they released for their Border Protection division, which features a voiceover narration of Isaiah 6:8 and a rendition of Johnny Cash’s “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” leading commenters on social media to call the video “blasphemy.”
For background, on July 7, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security released a promotional video on social media with the caption “Here am I, send me.” The video, which racked up nearly 2 million views on social media in one day, features a cover of the Johnny Cash song “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” and a voiceover from the film Fury of actor Shia LaBeouf reciting Isaiah 6:8.
In the video, the voice of actor Shia LaBeouf can be heard saying, “There’s a Bible verse I think about sometimes. Many times. It goes, ‘Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me.'” In the background, a cover of “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” plays, with the lyrics repeating, “You can run on for a long time… Sooner or later God’ll cut you down.”
Moreover, the excerpt of the Johnny Cash cover used in the song references unjust acts done in secret that will later be revealed: “Well you may throw your rock and hide your hand / Workin’ in the dark against your fellow man / But as sure as God made black and white /What’s done in the dark will be brought to the light.”
The video sparked a heated debate in the comments section on X, with some users arguing that DHS was taking Isaiah 6:8 out of context. The X user Susan Danielle wrote, “Since you like Isaiah, here’s chapter 16:3-5: ‘Hide the fugitives, do not betray the refugees. Let the fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer.'”
The passage continues, “‘The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land. In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it—one from the house[a] of David—one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.'” In response to Danielle’s comment, another user was critical writing, “The only problem is there aren’t many refugees pouring over the border. The last four years have been an invasion and many were criminals in their own countries before they broke any US laws.”
In addition, Pastor Zach Lambert fiercely criticized DHS’s use of the passage in a separate post, saying, “For a corrupt government to use these verses to justify the very marginalization and oppression being condemned in this passage is the height of blasphemy.” X user A Gene Robinson replied, saying that Lambert was “twisting Scripture.”
Moreover, Lambert said that in the passage in question, Isaiah “wasn’t rebuking nations for protecting their borders,” adding, “He was rebuking Israel’s corrupt leaders for forsaking justice, taking bribes, and abandoning widows and orphans inside their own land. ICE is enforcing federal immigration law.”
Watch the controversial clip:
Featured image credit: video screengrab