Because that’s where we’re at as a society

Have you ever read The Hunger Games? I have. I was a big fan as a kid. I really immersed myself in this dystopian revolution. I watched the movies, read the interviews and innocently believed that the story of a higher society making children fight to the death for their entertainment was a work of fiction.

But then Dr. Phil hosted a live broadcast of a mass deportation raid in Chicago, and suddenly I’m seeing the books much differently. 

Let me break it down for you.

Back in November, newly elected Donald Trump appointed Tom Homan, the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to be his “border czar” (his words, not mine) and oversee the country’s immigration. Homan was tasked to “run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen,” (again, his words) and wasted no time naming Chicago priority number one for deporting illegal immigrants. 

On Sunday, January 26, agents from ICE and other federal agencies touched down in Chicago to begin the raids. Joining them was an unexpected guest: Dr. Phillip McGraw, also known by his television persona, Dr. Phil. 

Yes, that Dr. Phil. The same Dr. Phil who hosted his eponymous talk show for more than two decades, garnering both praise for discussing mental health and scorn for sensationalizing it, was hosting deportation. Quite a Caesar Flickerman-esque kind of guy. 

Now, his support for the deportation of illegal immigrants wasn’t a total secret. In 2024, he made comments about his concern for the U.S. border, calling the situation a crisis. He also had Homan as a guest on his podcast in December, saying it would be an honor to help the “border czar” in securing the border. But this broadcast still seemed out of nowhere.

Reading the headlines announcing his presence felt like digital whiplash. It was so confusing, so unbelievable, that I think I now have a permanently furrowed brow from trying to take in everything. But after reading a few articles, I asked myself – is this really surprising? 

Trump is an entertainer at his core. He’s got enough books and TV shows to prove this. Having a talk show host quite literally host deportation, a key issue he ran on, oddly fits. 

So, what does this mean?

Firstly, it means that Suzanne Collins, the author of The Hunger Games, is a fortune teller. 

But secondly, and most importantly, it means that this administration is going to continue to present these massive and detrimental policies like mass deportation as entertainment. We need to be able to recognize it when it happens because it’ll keep happening. I mean, the TikTok ban, which led the app to display a message thanking President Trump for his work in restoring its service in the U.S., was before he was even sworn in. This isn’t stopping anytime soon. The administration will portray their work as content to be consumed. Don’t let them get you.

One final note. There is still hope. I know it might not seem like it, and believe me, I get it. But we need to remain strong and remember that we can’t do this alone. We need each other’s help and support. We’ve done a Trump presidency before. We can do it again.

Header by Kiernan Sullivan