White House Arcade Games Let You Deport Migrants and Build a Wall

The White House has put five online arcade games on its website that twist classic video games into political tools. One game, based on Snake, is called “Rio Run” — the player controls US border tsar Tom Homan chasing migrants with different skin colors near the Rio Grande. Another game, a Tetris clone titled “Build the Wall,” instructs players to “protect the border from the coming horde.” A third game involves collecting nets to put money into Trump accounts — savings accounts for children born between 2025 and 2028.

The games were announced Thursday and promoted on the White House’s official X account with a logo similar to Sega’s, but labeled “Maga.” They arrive as the Trump administration is ramping up mass arrests and deportations of undocumented migrants. Human rights and migrant advocacy groups immediately criticized the games, saying they make light of suffering and could inflame hostility toward vulnerable communities.

For an everyday person, the biggest issue is not the games themselves but what they represent — a government using official channels to turn enforcement actions into play. That can shape how millions of Americans and people abroad view immigration policy. Critics warn that describing migrants as a “horde” and gamifying their capture normalizes harsh treatment and may encourage harassment. Supporters may see it as a fun way to promote border security and patriotism.

The impact goes beyond politics. The games are free, public, and hosted on an official government website, meaning children can access them easily. Parental concerns may include the effect of playing a game that treats human beings as targets. Meanwhile, rights groups worry that these games are not just jokes but part of a broader strategy to make deportation and detention feel acceptable, even enjoyable, to the public.