Bulwark Takes America’s Deportation Obsession, Caught on Tape (w/ Drew Harwell)
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Feb 24, 2026 
Drew Harwell, technology reporter at The Washington Post known for investigative work, walks through his reporting on a comedian’s fake ICE tip line and the chilling calls it collected. Listeners hear how the prank was built, why callers believed it was official, and the patterns in callers’ justifications. The story exposes unsettling public attitudes and raises ethical questions about the stunt.
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Ordinary People Will Use Government Force When Prompted
- Ben Palmer's fake ICE tip line exposed ordinary people volunteering to report neighbors and coworkers as immigration threats.
- The viral TikTok call from a kindergarten teacher showed callers readily inferred government authority from a realistic-looking site and phone script.
Design And SEO Can Easily Masquerade As Government Channels
- Palmer used SEO and government-like design so his sites appeared on Google for phrases like "report an illegal immigrant."
- The pages used US seals and official language, prompting callers to fill in the blanks and trust the site.
Callers Invent Justifications After Spotting Someone
- Many calls followed the pattern: caller spots a brown person and then retrospectively invents suspicious reasons.
- Examples include a neighbor getting packages and a grocery shopper who didn't speak English.