The White House Launches 'aliens.gov' Website with Sci-Fi Imagery to Discuss Immigration Enforcement
The White House has launched a new website, aliens.gov, which uses science fiction imagery and language to frame its discussion of immigration enforcement. The site features a dark, starry background with green text declaring "THEY WALK AMONG US" and plays the theme from The X-Files.
The site explicitly states it refers to "illegal aliens" rather than extraterrestrials.
Design and Terminology
The website describes millions of "illegals" and calls for deportation, using terminology that has been part of US law since the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts. Notably, California removed the term "aliens" from its state code in 2021, calling it outdated and derogatory.
Key Data Presented
The site lists over three million "ENCOUNTERS" but does not clearly define the term. Data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shows up to one million encounters from January 2025 to March 2026, while Customs and Border Protection data shows about 200,000 encounters in certain periods.
An "alien arrests" map on the site shows 200,000 arrests since January 21, 2025, citing ICE as source. However, the Deportation Data Project tabulated over 300,000 arrests from ICE data covering a shorter timeframe.
Signs in the website's source code suggest AI tools may have been used in its creation.
Expert Reactions
A White House spokesperson said the site "pulls data directly from DHS arrest reports to communicate just how many illegal aliens are present in our country, and highlight the Trump Administration's efforts to remove them."
Ernesto Castañeda, director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at American University, said using the term "alien" and comparing noncitizens to extraterrestrials is "dehumanizing" and may incite hate crimes.
Shannon McGregor, an associate professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, described the site as propaganda with authoritarian undertones, suggesting it draws attention away from unpopular policies.