--- title: "Trump Admin Warns FEMA Not to Talk About “Ice” in Winter Storm Because They’re Scared People Will Use the Clips to Make Fun of ICE" description: "Homeland Security officials reportedly told FEMA disaster response staff to avoid using phrasing like \"watch out for ice.\"" date: "2026-01-24" modified: "2026-01-24" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/trump-warns-fema-ice-meme" categories: - "Future Society" --- # Trump Admin Warns FEMA Not to Talk About “Ice” in Winter Storm Because They’re Scared People Will Use the Clips to Make Fun of ICE ![MINNEAPOLIS, MN. - JANUARY 2026: A protester was pinned to the ground by federal agents and a chemical irritant was sprayed directly into his face, Wednesday, January 21, 2026, in south Minneapolis, Minn. Protesters gathered in the area after federal agents detained two individuals, according to witnesses. (Photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)]() *Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images* As a severe winter storm approaches, the Trump administration has bigger concerns on its plate: not getting trolled on the internet. And, we almost forgot to mention, memes. On Thursday, Homeland Security officials instructed disaster response staff at the Federal Emergency Management Agency to avoid using the word "ice" in public messaging about the impending storm for an incredible reason, [*CNN* reports](): because of all the outrage surrounding the other ICE, the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. The urgent concern, according to two sources familiar with the directive, is that it could not only cause confusion, but heaps of online mockery. "If FEMA says, 'Keep off the roads if you see ice,' it would be easy for the public to meme it," one of the sources told *CNN*. Ice posing a threat to the safety of American citizens? Gallows humor on the topic certainly does spring to mind — the controversial agency [shot and killed]() another protestor today. The unorthodox guidance, according to *CNN*'s sourcing, was delivered "informally" by officials from the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees both FEMA and ICE, and comes as the latter agency faces ever intensifying public backlash against its brutal — and deadly — crackdown in Minnesota. Meanwhile, FEMA, which Trump has [openly mused about dismantling entirely](), has been targeted with cuts and layoffs and reportedly plans to eliminate half its workforce, although it has paused those layoffs because of the storm, per another [*CNN* scoop](). According to the latest reporting, the sources claim the officials said to avoid phrasing like "watch out for ice," arguing that the memes those could spawn would take away from the serious nature of the warnings. Instead, the officials suggested using terms like "freezing rain," very possibly eliciting groans from meteorologists the world over. One of the sources called the directive a "dangerous precedent to set." "If we can't use clear language to help prepare Americans," the source told *CNN*, "then people may be left vulnerable and could suffer." Twenty-two states have issued states of emergency in anticipation of the storm that, stretching over 2,000 miles from Texas to New England, may affect over half the population of the entire country. In some regions, temperatures could plunge to such extremes lows that [trees could start exploding](). One of the biggest threats the storm will pose, despite FEMA's instructions to avoid mentioning it, is ice — the frozen water, not the immigration agency, which imperils roadways and weighs down trees, [raising the risk of them toppling onto power lines](). If the directive to FEMA to censor ice because of ICE sounds too stupid to be true, then maybe it is, if you're inclined to believe a very hostile sounding FEMA spokesperson. "'Reporting' like this reads like a desperate ploy for clickbait rather than real journalism that actually gives Americans disaster preparedness information that could save lives," the spokesperson said in a statement to *CNN*. "FEMA will use correct and accurate descriptors of weather conditions to communicate clearly to the American people." **More on:** [*Trump’s Huge AI Project Is Running Into a Major Financial Problem*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()