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A producer behind reality shows like The Millionaire Matchmaker, Duck Dynasty, and Alpha Dogs has pitched a new reality show idea to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—one in which immigrants compete for U.S. citizenship.
“I’m putting a face to immigration. This is a great celebration of America,” Rob Worsoff told CNN in an interview that aired on Friday, May 16, noting that he himself is an immigrant from Canada.
Worsoff says that he also pitched this reality show during both previous Democrat Administrations.
In an emailed statement to TIME on Saturday, Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary who oversees the DHS’ public outreach, said: “DHS receives hundreds of television show pitches a year, ranging from documentaries surrounding ICE and CBP border operations to white collar investigations by HSI,” adding that each of these proposals goes through a vetting process.
“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 said.
McLaughlin also denied, as she had on Friday via social media, that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was backing the show in any way, and said that Noem is “not even aware of the pitch.”
Meanwhile, Worsoff claimed during his CNN interview that the DHS appears to be “seriously considering” the show—which he said would include a series of elimination challenges across America. Examples he gave of such challenges included a “pizza-making challenge” in New York, a “rocket-launching challenge” in Florida, and a “gold rush challenge” in California. Per his vision, each episode would culminate in a town hall-esque style vote, one he said is akin to a “presidential election.”
“The people of Tennessee, let’s say, will get to vote on which one of our future Americans they would most like to represent the state of Tennessee,” Worsoff offered as an example. Then, a winner would be…
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