Migrant Reality Show: Competing for a Fast-Track to Citizenship?

Come to America, compete in a show, and win the American Dream.

Move over Survivor, put down your soufflé pan Top Chef, and pause your mani/pedicures Real Housewives – a new reality show may be coming for your ratings. It’s being considered right now by none other than the Department of Homeland Security itself, and if the pitch is granted, the world will soon have the privilege of watching illegal immigrants compete for a spot on the fast track to citizenship.

If you’re thinking this sounds like a satire article, think again. Producer and writer Rob Worsoff, known for producing such reality shows as Duck Dynasty and Millionaire Matchmaker, pitched a 35-page program to DHS on a show currently titled The American. So how would this work?

Migrant Reality Show: Competing for Citizenship

According to the pitch, the “contestants” would arrive at Ellis Island in New York City, the “Island of Hope,” aboard “The Citizen Ship,” a boat meant to symbolize a new beginning. They’d be greeted by an as-yet-undetermined famous naturalized American among others. Current suggestions include Colombian-born actress Sofia Vergara (Modern Family), Canadian-born actor Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), and Ukrainian actress Mila Kunis (That ‘70s Show) as hosts who would greet the participants with a personalized baseball glove – a reference to America’s pastime.

Viewers would get the opportunity to get to know each migrant. “We’ll join in the laughter, tears, frustration, and joy – hearing their backstories – as we are reminded how amazing it is to be American, through the eyes of 12 wonderful people who want nothing more than to have what we have,” the pitch promises.

Then the real fun would begin.

The proposed reality show would have the contestants traveling around the states, meeting “interesting Americans” while they learn about the history and cultures of the regions. They would be divided into teams and compete in challenges representative of the state or area where they are visiting. Some of the competitions being considered are:

• Balancing on rolling logs in Hayward, Wisconsin.
• Descending into mines to see who can get the most gold in San Francisco, California.
• Raft down the Arkansas River in Colorado.
• Deliver mail via horseback and ferry from Missouri to Kansas.
• Build and launch a rocket at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
• Dig clams in Maine.
• And in Detroit, Michigan, they would compete to see who could put together a chassis for a 1914 Model T Ford on an assembly line.

There would be prizes for those who didn’t get the top spot, but for the finale, the winning migrant would arrive at Washington, DC, aboard a train, walk to Capitol Hill, and then be sworn in. There would even be Thunderbird pilots flying overhead as well. Worsoff’s pitch exclaimed: “There won’t be a dry eye within 10 miles,” Daily Mail reported.

Not everyone is onboard with the proposed reality show. Initially, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was reportedly backing the pitch, though that claim has since been rebutted by the department. DHS Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told The Hill that the show “is in the very beginning stages” of a vetting process. She added that “Secretary [Kristi] Noem has not ‘backed’ or even reviewed the pitch of any scripted reality show. The Department of Homeland Security receives hundreds of television show pitches a year. Each proposal undergoes a thorough vetting process prior to denial or approval.”

Worsoff told the Daily Mail: “I’m not affiliated with any political ideology,” admitting he’d approached other administrations, including Barack Obama, with similar proposals. “As an immigrant myself, I am merely trying to make a show that celebrates the immigration process, celebrate what it means to be American and have a national conversation about what it means to be American, through the eyes of the people who want it most.”

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Worsoff stressed that the show would not make a mockery of the participants or the immigration process. “This isn’t ‘The Hunger Games’ for Immigrants,” he said. “This is not ‘Hey, if you lose, we are shipping you out on a boat out of the country.” In fact, discussions are ongoing about how to help the “losers” of the show gain citizenship faster as well.

Instead of sneaking across the border, illegal immigrants may have the opportunity to perform feats of skill, battling their fellow migrant for a chance of becoming a legal citizen, all while America watches. Reality TV may just jump to a whole new level.