Trump Likely Didn't Expect So Many Calls About ALF, ET

When will officials learn you never, ever give the internet an opening. President Trump established the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (VOICE) hotline via executive order on Wednesday, NBC News reports. According to BuzzFeed, the hotline is meant to help "people impacted by crimes committed by illegal aliens" (though it's not meant for actually reporting those crimes). One Twitter user—28-year-old Marine Corps veteran Alex McCoy—quickly noticed the government launched VOICE on "Alien Day," an annual celebration of the Alien movies. He suggested everyone call the hotline to report crimes by extraterrestrials. And boy did they.

It's unclear how many prank calls were made to VOICE, but Twitter users were reporting long wait times, the BBC reports. Officials say the hotline was "tied up by hoax callers," and an ICE spokesperson complains there are "certainly more constructive ways" to protest. McCoy might disagree, telling NBC: "I thought this was a chance to push back on how Trump has demonized the immigrant community." Critics of VOICE say it creates fear and stokes racism and point to multiple studies showing immigrants are less likely to commit serious crimes. McCoy adds there are already places for victims of crimes to get help and find information. ICE says it will add more VOICE operators if the prank calls continue. (More aliens stories.)