Aliens.gov, a space-themed White House website, presents immigration enforcement arrests using UFO and alien imagery. The site claims ICE arrested almost half a million people in nearly 12,000 U.S. cities and towns. It lists 715 locations where at least one arrestee is reported as born in the United States, and 83 locations where every arrestee is reported as American. For each location, it assigns alleged offenses, including “Immigration” and “Public Peace,” which covers unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct. In more than one-fifth of locations, no criminal charges are recorded. Puerto Rico is treated as a separate jurisdiction and is shown as a foreign country in at least one entry. The site was framed as political theater aimed at dehumanizing immigrants.
"Aliens.gov, a space-themed White House website, mocks immigrants and compares them to extraterrestrials. The site claims Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested almost half a million people in nearly 12,000 cities and towns in the United States. In 715 of the locations listed, the site identifies at least one of the people arrested as being born in the United States. In 83 of the locations, every single arrestee is reported to be an American."
"The site includes information about arrestees' alleged criminal offenses for each location. People in 3,159 locations are accused of “Immigration.” In 1,082 locations—including Chicago and Minneapolis—at least one of the crimes supposedly committed by the arrestees is “Public Peace,” a category of convictions that includes unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct. In more than one-fifth of the locations the site flags as the site of an arrest, no criminal charges are recorded."
"Puerto Rico, a US territory whose residents are American citizens, is mapped on the site as a separate jurisdiction; in one row, the site lists Puerto Rico itself among the foreign countries the arrestees came from. The White House unveiled the website, Aliens.gov, on Thursday after teasing the launch on X with a 10-second video captioned, “They walk among us,” leading many users to suspect an announcement about UFOs."
"The site turned out instead to be a piece of political theater aimed at dehumanizing immigrants and casting those the Trump administration has arrested as the secret extraterrestrial visitors of UFO conspiracy lore. The White House said WIRED's request for comment did not reach its inbox until two hours after it was sent by reporters. It did not address WIRED's questions."
Read at WIRED
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