Human rights groups quickly criticized the appearance of these online games, which coincides with the Trump administration’s strengthening of the mass detention and deportation program for illegal migrants in the country.
In one game called “Rio Run” – an updated version of the game “Snake” – digital U.S. border official Tom Homan chases migrants of different skin colors along the Rio Grande River at the Mexico border.
Another game, based on the block-stacking game “Tetris,” is called “Build the Wall.”
“Protect the wall from the approaching horde,” the instructions say.
In the third game, players need to collect nets and place them into so-called “Trump accounts” – investment accounts with an initial deposit of $1,000, intended for children born from 2025 to 2028.
A video with the “Make America Great Again” MAGA logo, mimicking the video game maker “Sega” logo, was posted on the White House’s social media account “X.”
“WE CAN’T STOP WINNING. Build the wall. Deport. Fill the Trump account,” it says.
“This administration is focused entirely on how to innovate and tell the story of the president’s many achievements in a way that resonates with every American,” the White House said in a statement to AFP.
“It is an effort to further emphasize the contrast between a culture of fun and achievements and the grim socialist vision that Democrats have planned for the U.S.,” it added.
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Human rights groups criticized the White House over this gaming website.
“It makes me sick. They have played with people’s lives for years, and now they have created a video game about what they do,” America Garcia Grewal, one of the directors of the Texas-based Frontera Federation, told AFP.
According to her, the game developers “have lost touch with what it means to be human and to care for others.”
Adriana Jasso, program coordinator for the AMIGOS San Diego Community organization working at the border, said these arcade-style games show the administration’s “complete lack of seriousness.”
“The administration’s cruelty, extremism (…) is no longer surprising,” she said.
According to A. Jasso, the White House seems to aim to dehumanize and mock migrants even when people die in detention centers.
“It presents the problem as if it were a game, although it really is not,” she said.
D. Trump promised during his election campaign to deport millions of illegal migrants, and upon returning to power took several actions aimed at speeding up deportations and reducing border crossings.
Meanwhile, his White House has long used various tricks on social media to cement its position and mock liberal opponents, which has caused dissatisfaction among several artists over the unauthorized use of their music.
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