Criticism is mounting that the Trump administration, which is implementing a hard-line policy to expel a large number of illegal immigrants and raise the immigration threshold, is trying an inhumane “real-life squid game.” On top of that, the Department of Homeland Security, which is in charge, is under fire for its plan to buy a new $50 million ministerial plane.
According to the Daily Mail, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is considering producing a reality show that offers U.S. citizenship as the top priority. The story is about 12 participants who want to immigrate to the U.S. tour the U.S. and compete with each other based on cultural characteristics of each region. The title is “The American,” which refers to Americans.
The program is known to be composed of one person who is eliminated every week by train across the United States. The elimination is determined by performing log rolling in Wisconsin, assembling a Ford car launched in 1914 in Detroit, Michigan, and collecting gold from the San Francisco coal mine in California.
The background of the final episode is Washington, the capital city. The winner will be sworn in as a U.S. citizen on the stairs of the Capitol. The producer who proposed the program to the Department of Homeland Security told the WSJ, “We don’t plan to expel those who are eliminated. I think it would be better to put them on the fast track for citizenship screening.”
The Department of Homeland Security also said it is considering producing the program. “This program celebrates the identity of Americans and highlights how privileged it is to be a U.S. citizen,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Security, told the New York Times. “The Department of Homeland Security welcomes creative proposals.”
When the news broke that the Department of Homeland Security was considering producing a reality show with citizenship as a product, criticism such as “The United States has lost dignity,” “The world in the drama “Black Mirror” has become a reality,” and “It is shameful and sad.”
Recently, the Department of Homeland Security is facing criticism that Secretary of Homeland Security Christy Nome focuses on image management rather than immigration policy enforcement. On the 16th, when the news of the production was announced, the Ministry of Homeland Security was strongly criticized for spending 50 million dollars to buy a private jet for Nome to use. Earlier, the Department of Homeland Security also executed 200 million dollars for TV commercials featuring Nome.
SAM KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
