Trump Administration Turns Deportation Into Arcade Games, Draws Criticism From Rights Groups

The White House under President Donald Trump has launched a collection of arcade-style online games promoting some of the administration’s key policies, including migrant deportation and construction of a border wall.

The games, unveiled on Thursday, feature familiar gaming formats but have been redesigned around the administration’s “MAGA” messaging.

The launch comes as Trump’s administration steps up arrests and deportations of undocumented migrants across the United States.

One of the featured games, Rio Run, puts a digital version of US border czar Tom Homan in pursuit of migrants of different skin colours along the Rio Grande. The game is based on the classic Snake format.

Another, Build the Wall, borrows from Tetris, challenging players to construct a border wall. Its instructions read: “Protect the border from the coming horde.”

The website also features a game centred on so-called “Trump accounts,” investment accounts with a $1,000 deposit for children born from 2025 through 2028.

The White House amplified the launch on X with a video using a “Make America Great Again” logo modelled on the logo of video game company Sega.

“CAN’T STOP WINNING. Build the wall. Deport. Fill a Trump Account,” the video says.

The White House defended the project, saying the games were designed to communicate Trump’s accomplishments in a way that connects with Americans.

“This administration is laser focused on ways to innovate and tell the story of the President’s many accomplishments in a way that resonates with every American,” it said in a statement to AFP.

The administration said the initiative was also intended to highlight what it called “a culture of fun and winning” in contrast to “the dark socialist vision Democrats have for America.”

The launch was met with swift condemnation from migrant rights advocates.

Amerika Garcia Grewal, co-director of the Frontera Federation in Eagle Pass, Texas, criticised the decision to turn immigration enforcement into a game.

“Makes me sick. They’ve been playing games with people’s lives for years, now they’ve made a video game of what they’re doing,” she told AFP.

She added that the designers “have lost touch with what it means to be human and care for others.”

Adriana Jasso, a program coordinator with AMIGOS San Diego Community, said the games reflected what she described as a fundamental “lack of seriousness” by the administration.

“The cruelty, the extremity of the administration… is no longer surprising,” Jasso said.

She accused the White House of dehumanising and ridiculing migrants while people continue to die in detention facilities.

“This presents the issue as if it were a game, when in fact it is not.”

Trump returned to power after campaigning on a promise to expel millions of undocumented migrants. Since then, his administration has pursued measures designed to increase deportations and curb border crossings.

The White House has also developed a reputation for using provocative social media campaigns to promote its policies and taunt liberal opponents. Its use of artists’ music without permission has separately triggered criticism from several musicians.

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