'Hunger Games for immigrants'? Trump administration mulls reality TV show where contestants vie for citizenship

US President Donald Trump is known for hosting and producing The Apprentice, a reality show where contestants compete to become an apprentice to a businessman. Now the Trump administration is mulling a reality show called The American, but the contestants will be immigrants who compete for American citizenship.

The idea is being pushed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who wants immigrants to prove that they are the most American. The pitch for the immigration reality show is detailed in a 36-page document submitted by Rob Worsoff, a Canada-born writer and producer, according to the Daily Mail.

While talk show host Bill Maher criticised The American as a Hunger Games-like competition pitting immigrants against each other, Worsoff clarified that it is not. "This 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," Worsoff told the Wall Street Journal.

All about The American

The reality show with one-hour episodes is expected to be titled The American after the train in which the contestants travel across the US as they compete in cultural contests in various regions. These include a Gold Rush contest in California, assembling a Ford Model T chassis in Detroit, delivering mail on horseback and ferry between Missouri and Kansas, digging clams in Maine, launching a NASA rocket in Florida and so on.

The first episode will begin with the immigrants arriving aboard The Citizen Ship, a boat symbolising a new beginning. They will land at Ellis Island, the traditional entry point for immigrants coming to the US.

The grand finale will see the winner getting sworn in on the steps of the US Capitol. The prizes include 1 million American Airlines points, a $10,000 Starbucks Gift Card or a lifetime supply of gasoline from 76, which is a chain of gas stations in the US.

World