Is DHS Secretary Noem Really Planning Reality Show Featuring Illegal Aliens Competing for Citizenship?

The news is all over the place and the internet is burning up with outrage. You see, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is planning a game show where illegal immigrants will battle it out to win citizenship, and the winner would be sworn in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Daily Mail was the first to bring this dubious story to the public ("ICE Barbie Kristi Noem is backing insane reality TV show where immigrants compete for fast-tracked citizenship" but a sample of headlines at this hour shows that numerous other outlets are running with it as well:

There’s only one problem with this “bombshell,” according to DHS. In a statement titled "FAKE NEWS FRIDAY," they torch the report and call it complete horsebunk:

…Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin slammed the [Daily Mail] report as “fake news” and called it “an affront to journalism.”
“Secretary Noem has not ‘backed’ nor is even aware of the pitch of any scripted or reality show,” she wrote in a statement.
“DHS receives hundreds of television show pitches a year, ranging from documentaries surrounding ICE and CBP border operations to white collar investigations by HSI,” McLaughlin continued.
“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. This pitch has not received approval or rejection by staff,” she concluded.

This is completely false. @DailyMail’s “reporting” is an affront to journalism. Secretary Noem has not “backed” or even aware of the pitch of any scripted or reality show. @DHSgov receives hundreds of television show pitches a year, ranging from documentaries surrounding ICE… https://t.co/srSBHYl3Vp
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) May 16, 2025

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Notice how the media somehow missed the story when it supposedly originated in the Obama years:

Rob Worsoff, who has worked on reality hits like “Duck Dynasty,” has apparently been pitching the idea since former President Barack Obama’s administration, according to WSJ.
“This isn’t ‘The Hunger Games’ for immigrants,” he told the outlet, stressing that immigrants who lost the contests would not be deported.
Instead, immigrants who are already in the American immigration system — not illegal aliens — would compete in various patriotic-themed tasks, WSJ reported.
The competitions would potentially involve science and American history, according to the outlet.

Whether there's even a grain of truth to the story does not matter to the Democrats; there are numerous pols posting full-outrage hysteria like this on social media:

Noem wants to turn the citizenship process into an unserious reality TV game show. It's sick and twisted.

It's more dehumanizing political propaganda from an Administration that wants us to see sport in suffering.

We all must speak out to defend our shared humanity. https://t.co/R18NWJdYaM
— Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (@repdeliaramirez) May 16, 2025

Do I think a game show featuring illegal immigrants competing against each other is a good idea? No, I don’t. However, until and unless I read a formal statement that such a show is in the works inside the federal government, I’m not going to start foaming at the mouth with criticism. We have learned way too many times that the media will flat-out make up stuff if it fits their narrative.

I’ll believe it when I see it.

America dodged a bullet when Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris at the ballot box.

One reason why he won is because conservative outlets like RedState kept bringing you the unvarnished truth, and we didn’t try to gaslight you like the mainstream media did.

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