Washington, DC [US], September 11 (ANI): The US Department of Homeland Security on Thursday (local time) removed an X post featuring a Transformers-themed cartoon confronting an Indian Sikh man with the phrase "Get off our roads, you don't know how to drive Mr. Singh" following fierce condemnation.

The deleted post portrayed a facial-haired man wearing a bandana opposite the Transformers character Optimus Prime adorned with the DHS seal on his armour. The poster also read, 'Self deport or find out.'

According to The New York Times, the image drew immediate backlash from Indian American organisations and Democratic lawmakers, who condemned it as racially discriminatory toward Sikh Americans and harmful to millions sharing the common surname.

Addressing the post, NYT reported that DHS said in a statement that the graphic depicted Harjinder Singh, an Indian national facing vehicular homicide and manslaughter charges after pleading not guilty in a fatal Florida turnpike crash that claimed three lives.

The federal agency dismissed the public outcry as "nonsensical drivel" and asserted that "Harjinder Singh is an illegal alien from India who should never have been in our country," according to the NYT.

It added that the department offered no immediate explanation for why the post was taken down.

NYT further highlighted that the timing of the incident, occurring alongside the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, heightened public outrage.  Sikh men, who traditionally keep beards and wear turbans, were repeatedly targeted in violent, anti-Muslim hate crimes following the 2001 attacks due to mistaken identity, NYT reported.

The controversial graphic also sparked an immediate online clash between state leadership and federal authorities.

California Governor Gavin Newsom sharply criticised the US President Donald Trump administration on social media, writing, 'This is disgusting. Trump's government is trafficking in racist propaganda targeting the Sikh community.'

https://x.com/GovPressOffice/status/2098055997852143726