Homeland Security vetting reality show idea where immigrants compete for citizenship

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The Department of Homeland Security is reviewing a pitch for a reality show in which immigrants would compete for fast-tracked citizenship. Catholic immigration advocates expressed concern such a show would undermine the dignity of those seeking U.S. citizenship or legal residency and the challenges they undergo to do so.

The report comes as the Trump administration and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem seek to implement hardline immigration policies, including mass deportation of immigrants lacking legal authorization to live in the United States.

“We find the prospect of a reality show in which immigrants are required to compete for citizenship to be deeply appalling, abhorrent, and contrary to the values that define our nation,” Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, also known as CLINIC, told OSV News.

“The very notion that individuals seeking refuge, safety, and a better life would be treated as contestants in a game is an affront to their inherent dignity and worth,” she said.

First reported by the Daily Mail, television producer Rob Worsoff, behind the A&E show “Duck Dynasty,” pitched DHS on a reality show in which immigrants would compete in various challenges in order to become a citizen. The report claimed Noem supported the pitch, but a DHS spokesperson denied that.

“Along the way, we will be reminded what it means to be American — through the eyes of the people who want it most,” Worsoff’s pitch said, according to the report.

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement shared with OSV News, “This is completely false. Daily Mail’s ‘reporting’ is an affront to journalism.”

“Secretary Noem has not ‘backed’ nor is even aware of the pitch of any scripted or reality show,” McLaughlin said. “DHS receives hundreds of television show pitches a year, ranging from documentaries surrounding ICE and CBP border operations to white collar investigations by HSI. Each proposal undergoes a thorough vetting process prior to denial or approval. We need to revive patriotism and civic duty in this country, and we’re happy to review out-of-the-box pitches.”

McLaughlin, however, added, “This pitch has not received approval or rejection by staff.”

The pitch drew comparisons on social media to “The Hunger Games” novels and films, in which teenagers compete for their lives on television under an authoritarian regime.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Worsoff argued his pitch “isn’t ‘The Hunger Games’ for immigrants.”

“This is not, ‘Hey, if you lose, we are shipping you out on a boat out of the country,'” he said.

Worsoff’s pitch, per the Daily Mail, said contestants from various countries and backgrounds would be pre-vetted and arrive at Ellis Island in New York City aboard ‘The Citizen Ship,’ and then take part in various regionally-themed challenges like keeping their balance on logs in Wisconsin. After the grand finale, the winner would be sworn in at the U.S. Capitol.

Gallagher said her organization is “rooted in Catholic social teaching” and holds “firm to the belief that every person is created in the image and likeness of God and possesses inalienable human dignity.”

“The Catholic Church has long emphasized the importance of welcoming the stranger, protecting the vulnerable, and ensuring that all people, regardless of their status, are treated with respect and compassion,” she said. “To reduce the pursuit of citizenship — a fundamental human right — to a mere competition not only dehumanizes individuals, but also undermines the values of justice, solidarity, and compassion that should guide our national policies and practices.”

“As a nation that has long been shaped and enriched by immigrants, we must reject such exploitative concepts and instead focus on creating systems that honor and uplift the people who contribute to the fabric of our society,” Gallagher added. “This proposed reality show sends the dangerous message that immigrants are not worthy of respect but rather are subjects of spectacle.”

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