The White House launched an online video game depicting the deportation of illegal immigrants, available since Thursday on the official website of the U.S. Presidency. The game is inspired by the classic "Snake," adopting outdated graphics, and the player must guide a character representing Tom Homan, the chief immigration adviser to President Donald Trump, to gather and deport people who have crossed the Rio Grande at the border with Mexico.
Another game based on the principles of "Tetris," called "Protect the Border from the Approaching Horde," was also released, involving the construction of a wall at the border with Mexico. The White House argues that the games "highlight the contrast between a 'fun' and 'winning' culture and the dark socialist vision of the Democrats" for the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated it detained a "record" number of nearly 51,000 undocumented immigrants in August, in a massive deportation policy that is one of the main flags of the Trump administration. The White House's communication strategy openly employs the principle of "trolling" on social media, which consists of disseminating provocative content to generate outrage and go viral.
The head of the NGO Frontera Federation, América García Grewal, strongly criticized the initiative, stating that the game creators "lost sight of what it means to be human and care for others." According to the activist, based in Texas, "this disgusts me. They have been playing with people's lives for years and now they are making a video game about their actions."
