By Trendsetter Tribune 
A strange but telling trend is spreading across social media: Americans taping their passports or IDs to their heads before leaving the house.
In viral TikTok and Instagram videos, creators say the move is about protection — visible proof of citizenship in case they are stopped or questioned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). One creator summed it up bluntly: “You cannot be too careful. You gotta move with purpose now.”
The trend first appeared in December but has surged in recent weeks as national attention has focused on intensified federal immigration operations, particularly in Minneapolis, where two U.S. citizens — ICU nurse Alex Pretti and mother of three Renee Good — were fatally shot by Border Patrol and ICE agents in separate incidents. The deaths sparked protests and deepened fears about aggressive enforcement tactics.
One of the most widely shared videos comes from TikTok creator @dotish001, whose clip — viewed more than 7 million times — shows him walking with his passport taped to his head. “Before you ask me, ‘Are you a citizen? Where’s your passport?’ — you see my passport already,” he says. In another video, he tapes his driver’s license to his head with the caption: “How green card holders move around America.”
Similar posts have surfaced nationwide. An Instagram account highlighted a Somali-American woman in Minnesota doing the same, while creator Yvonne Mugure, based in Arizona, shared a video saying, “Make sure it’s visible in all angles.”
The Department of Homeland Security pushed back on the fears driving the trend, stressing that REAL IDs are not immigration documents and do not prove legal status. DHS also noted that non-citizens are required under federal law to carry immigration paperwork.
Still, the videos reflect a broader anxiety. In 2025 alone, 32 people died in ICE custody, the agency’s deadliest year in two decades. Critics have also raised concerns over racial profiling, arrests without due process, and the detention of children.
For many creators, the message is less about comedy and more about survival. As @dotish001 explained in the comments, the videos are meant to reflect the reality many people feel they’re living in now — where being visibly “prepared” feels safer than taking chances