'A reality show': Activists slam Trump's 'Cops TV-style' round-ups

Donald Trump benefited so much from the publicity surrounding his reality TV show The Apprentice , which debuted in 2004, that some say it took him all the way to the presidency in 2016. Now, his administration is packaging his biggest second-term initiative -- migrant raids in the name of border security -- to appeal to a nationwide television audience, according to a new article in The Guardian.

Not only has the administration green-lighted raid "ride-alongs" for Fox News personalities and pop psychologist Dr. Phil, the administration has distributed publicity photos to the media and federal agencies that post them on social media.

"Immigration advocates and activists say the Cops TV-style content is a scare tactic," wrote reporters Lauren Gamino and Maanvi Singh. They spoke with immigration activists who decried the made-for-TV performances.

Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition advocacy group, derided DHS Director Kristi Noem, who was dressed in tactical gear, for “cosplaying as a law enforcement officer” in a social media post that touted some of the administration's very first raids. Noem captioned it, "Live this AM from NYC. I'm on it."

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Awawdeh told The Guardian, “This is a publicity stunt to them. This has never been about security and safety. This is about cruelty, and that’s the point.”

Democratic Rep. Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL) said at a press conference, “The administration is trying to make these operations into a reality show, dragging a daytime talk show host with them. This is about optics, not public safety. It’s a deliberate strategy to desensitize the public. It is a calculated cruelty.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the administration's actions, saying, "They illegally broke our nation’s laws, and, therefore, are criminals as far as this administration goes."

But The Guardian article clarified that, "Being in the US without legal documentation is considered a civil offense, not a crime and advocates argue that people have the right to ask for asylum regardless of how they enter the country."

Painting all undocumented migrants as criminals seems to be the administration's goal, however. Although Border Czar Tom Homan has said ICE's focus will be on deporting undocumented migrants with criminal records, there will be "collateral" arrests of people found with them.

Read The Guardian article here.