Callers swamp Trump’s immigration crime hotline with UFO reports
A newly unveiled federal hotline intended to collect reports of crimes committed by immigrants has instead been inundated by accounts of UFOs, killer robots and Superman.
The Victims of Immigrant Crime Engagement, or VOICE, office opened Wednesday to track crimes committed by immigrants – legal or undocumented – to the United States. The office, part of the Department of Homeland Security, also rolled out a hotline for tips from the public.
It didn’t take long for non-fans of President Donald Trump to come up with ways to register their disapproval of the whole idea.
Wouldn't it be a shame if millions of people called this hotline to report their encounters with aliens of the UFO-variety. https://t.co/Cl048Gihnk
— Alexander McCoy (@AlexanderMcCoy4) April 26, 2017
And the internet rose to the, well, call.
1-855-48-VOICE
— Jean Bonifacio (@Jeaniebonotex) April 26, 2017
I plan on calling every day to report how badly these green aliens from outer space are treating me. How about you?
If any of you need to report space aliens to our government, please call their hotline: 1-855-48-VOICE. Here are some of their Most Wanted: pic.twitter.com/nWnVYdDdpG
— Steven Santos (@stevensantos) April 27, 2017
Don't forget to call 1-855-48-VOICE & let them know if you've seen the illegal alien Sasquatch (aka Big Foot), on the / border ! pic.twitter.com/pAfOOR0ZqS
— Jordan (@_Jordan_J_) April 27, 2017
I also advise not calling the @ICEgov illegal alien hotline (1-855-48-VOICE) to report robots looking for Sarah Connor.#AlienDay #MAGA pic.twitter.com/m3MfuI6195
— Joe Keene (@joekeene) April 27, 2017
BuzzFeed reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said the hotline had been tied up with the bogus reports, and vowed to reallocate resources to prevent the line from being overwhelmed by pranksters.
This story was originally published April 27, 2017 at 8:55 AM with the headline "Callers swamp Trump’s immigration crime hotline with UFO reports."