Reality show where migrants would compete for citizenship now under consideration by Trump Administration

Washington, (EFE) – President Donald Trump’s administration is considering authorizing the production of a reality show in which immigrants would compete in various challenges to earn U.S. citizenship, although officials have confirmed that the proposal has not yet been approved.

The unprecedented possibility that the United States would greenlight a reality show with the goal of obtaining naturalization in the country as a prize was initially reported by the British newspaper The Daily Mail, which reported on the alleged support of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kristi Noem.

However, this was denied by the agency’s deputy secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, who in a statement sent to EFE this Friday stated that “this is completely false,” adding that Noem “has not endorsed nor is aware of the proposal for any fiction or reality show.”

McLaughlin admitted that the government agency “receives hundreds of proposals for television programs each year” and that each one “undergoes a rigorous selection process before being rejected or approved.”

“We need to revitalize patriotism and civic duty in this country, and we gladly review original proposals. This proposal has not received staff approval or rejection,” the undersecretary warned.

In general terms, the proposal is intended as “a celebration of being an American and the privilege of being a citizen of the United States,” its producer, Rob Worsoff, told The Wall Street Journal.

Worsoff, who brought the reality show concept to DHS, specifies that he doesn’t want people to get the wrong idea about the program’s nature.

“This isn’t ‘The Hunger Games’ for immigrants,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “This isn’t: ‘If you lose, we’ll ship you out of the country.'”

According to the Journal, McLaughlin indicated that the project’s review “is in the early stages” and stated that “each proposal undergoes an exhaustive evaluation process before rejection or approval.”

The official specified that the tests would be based on American traditions and customs, The New York Times reported.

The exam, which all applicants for naturalized citizenship must pass, includes questions about history, politics, and life in the United States.

The reality show proposal reaches DHS offices as the agency moves quickly to advance the agenda of Trump, who returned to power in January with a tough immigration policy, including promises of a historic mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.

This week, the administration defended before the Supreme Court an executive order by the president limiting birthright citizenship and denying it to children of undocumented parents or those with temporary visas in the country. This could affect hundreds of thousands of babies each year, according to a study by the Migration Policy Institute.