DHS may greenlight a reality show where immigrants compete for U.S. citizenship. No, really.
The next phase of America’s moral collapse is now in development. And like everything else we’ve monetized, it’s got a pitch deck, a reality TV producer, and just enough red-white-and-blue branding to pass for patriotism.
According to Time magazine (May 17, 2025), the Department of Homeland Security might be reviewing a pitch for a game show called The American, where twelve immigrants travel the country competing in themed challenges for a chance to win U.S. citizenship.
Not a scholarship. Not a green card. Not a legal aid consultation.
Citizenship. As a prize.
He Came, He Saw, He Monetized.
Rob Worsoff, an immigrant from Canada, shared his perspective in a CNN interview that aired Friday, May 16: “I’m putting a face to immigration. This is a great celebration of America.” Yeah, well, Rob’s “celebration” hits different when you realize he’s selling the myth, not just sipping it.
Think of challenges like mining gold in California, assembling a Model T in Detroit, and launching rockets in Florida. Because what better way to prove your urgent need to seek refuge and your love of democracy than through vaguely-themed tourism cosplay?
Each episode ends with a “town hall” vote—where locals decide which immigrant gets to stay in the game. And presumably which ones get to go home and sob into their unprocessed I-485 forms.
Because nothing says “fair immigration policy” like a popularity contest in a strip mall parking lot moderated by a guy in cargo shorts.
Oh, the humanity.
This concept has the spiritual DNA of The Hunger Games with a splash of Squid Game, plus the flavor of a C-SPAN special gone rogue.
We’ve been warned for decades—repeatedly by both dystopian fiction and actual TV show fails—that turning human lives into entertainment is a red flag the size of Texas. But instead of learning anything, we’re out here selling suffering as prime-time entertainment and calling it the American dream.
Let’s just say it: If your immigration policy fits neatly between commercial breaks, you don’t have a policy. You have a reality show with set dressing.
Meanwhile, in Trumpland…
Let’s not kid ourselves. Trump would absolutely shoehorn himself into this. Probably as Executive Producer, Host, and Tchotchke Salesman. Picture it now:
“This season on The American: Immigrants prove their worth! They gold pan, build cars, sing patriotic karaoke—and only one earns the golden passport!”
“It’s gonna be huge. Bigger than The Apprentice. We’ll sell hats, commemorative mugs, and ‘YOU’RE NATURALIZED!’ buffs. The winner gets a U.S. passport and the rest get sent to the back of the line at the border.”
The Real Danger
Reality TV isn’t reality.
It’s manipulated, massaged, and manufactured in post production. It’s crafted to provoke outrage and keep viewers foaming at the mouth between commercial breaks. And now we’re supposed to trust that same machine with something as sacred as citizenship?
Think the show would play fair? You’re naive as f***.
Remember The Apprentice? That show didn’t just entertain—it constructed a lie.
A lie so polished, so persistent, that it launched an unqualified game show host into the White House.
Producers deliberately edited out Trump’s incoherence, his confusion, his tantrums, replacing them with a fantasy of competence and control.
Now imagine that same level of editorial gaslighting but applied to immigrants trying to earn a place in this country.
You think they’ll be shown as complex, hardworking humans with dignity and dreams?
Or as archetypes in a morality play designed to sell ad space and stoke division?
What happens when a contestant is edited to look “ungrateful”?
What happens when an immigrant speaks accented English, or doesn’t cry on cue, or dares to question the premise of the show?
They lose. And not just the game.
This isn’t just tasteless. It’s a propaganda engine wrapped in a game show format.
And the people most likely to believe it?
They are the same people who thought Trump was a business genius, COVID was a hoax, and democracy is optional if you have enough followers.
If you think this show won’t end in exploitation, heartbreak, and culture war clickbait, then I’ve got a Trump NFT to sell you.
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“Think the show would play fair? You’re naive as f***)”
Guessing the ethical inspiration is the game show & payola scandals of the ’50s. Only this time the contestants rather than the hosts & producers serve time.