The US Department of Homeland Security is reportedly considering an “out-of-the-box” pitch to participate in a television gameshow that would have immigrants compete to obtain US citizenship.
Department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin described the pitch to the New York Times as a “celebration of being an American” and said the show would include challenges based on American traditions.
In a statement, McLaughlin said: “We need to revive patriotism and civic duty in this country, and we’re happy to review out-of-the-box pitches. This pitch has not received approval or rejection by staff.”
News of the project surfaced as Donald Trump, himself a former reality TV star, carries out a sprawling immigration crackdown that has ensnared undocumented immigrants as well as lawful permanent residents, refugees and those with temporary status and pending court cases. In some cases, US citizen children have been deported alongside an undocumented parent.
Overseeing the deportation effort as homeland security secretary is Kristi Noem, the former governor of South Dakota who has drawn sharp criticism for her “made-for-TV”-style approach to immigration enforcement. Shortly after she was sworn in, Noem appeared in tactical gear for a ride-along with immigration agents.
She also traveled to El Salvador, where, well-coiffed and wearing a $50,000 Rolex watch, she posed in a notorious prison housing hundreds of men deported by the Trump administration without due process.
The idea for the reality show was pitched by Rob Worsoff, the Canadian-born producer and writer who worked on Duck Dynasty, a reality TV show about a Louisiana hunting family popular with Trump supporters.
In an interview, Worsoff told the New York Times that the proposal originated from his own experience with the naturalization process to become a US citizen. Describing the project, he said one of the challenges might center on Nasa to see which participant could assemble and launch a rocket first.
The Wall Street Journal reviewed a 36-page slide deck laying out Worsoff’s idea, which he said he pitched to the department during the Obama administration and again during the Biden administration.
According to the Journal, his proposal includes one-hour episodes and begins with immigrants sailing to Ellis Island, once a key point of entry for millions of people arriving in the US. Other challenges entail a gold-rush competition set in San Francisco and an auto-assembly-line contest in Detroit.
The show would conclude with the winner being sworn in as a US citizen.
“This isn’t The Hunger Games for immigrants,” Worsoff told the Journal, stressing that losing contestants would not face deportation. “This is not: ‘Hey, if you lose, we are shipping you out on a boat out of the country.’”
The idea was first reported by the Daily Mail, though the department in its statement strongly refuted that Noem was aware of the pitch.
McLaughlin said the department receives hundreds of pitches a year for potential television shows, including for documentaries about immigration and border-security enforcement operations as well as white-collar investigations.
“Each proposal undergoes a thorough vetting process prior to denial or approval,” she said.
