In this already divided country, USA's Suits spinoff Pearson paints ICE as the enemy, just for doing their jobs, in an ongoing storyline in the first season.
Yoli Sandoval (Isabel Azzairza) is a DACA child who was brought to the United States at the age of two by her parents. ICE detained Yoli's mother after a routine visit a few episodes ago. Yoli attempted to help her mother, but an immigration lawyer tricked her into giving him money before he ran.
In the most recent episode, "The Political Wife," Yoli finally talks to her boss Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres) about her mother. Yoli tells Pearson that she forgot that her mom was having her check in that day. If she knew she would have told her mother that the "climate's different now" and that they are "looking for reasons to throw people out of this country."
Yoli: I'm so mad at myself. I was so wrapped up in my own life that I didn't even remember that she was going into ICE. And I always remember, and she hugged me so tight and it didn't even pick up on it.
Pearson: You couldn't have done anything. She was going in anyway.
Yoli: I could have told her that the climate's different now. I could have told her that they are looking for reasons to throw people out of this country.
Pearson: And I'm sure she knew that. Yoli, you knowing she was going in wouldn't have prevented her from being detained.
Yoli: I know.
Pearson: Am I that much of a monster that you couldn't tell me?
Yoli: No, I've been messing up so much since I got here and I didn't.
Pearson: You didn't want to be the source of more drama.
Yoli: Yeah, and now look.
Pearson: First of all, you haven't been messing up. You've been a godsend. And second, this isn't drama Yoli, this is life. And right now you need someone who's on your side.
Yoli: I need someone to bring my mom home. Can you do that?
Pearson: I can't make any promises but the first thing I'm going to do is find you a real lawyer.
Pearson talks to one of the Suits lawyers in New York, who tells her that "unless she's seeking asylum or has some great story to bring attention to the firm, it's just not worth their time."
Pearson and Yoli visit Yoli's mother in an ICE detention center. Pearson informs them that she is a "daughter of an immigrant," but obviously Pearson's mother came here legally from Cuba. Yoli's mother tells Pearson, "When we had Yoli we wanted to give or the best life and the best education." So, when Yoli was two, they scraped together enough money to get across the border.
Pearson tells Yoli's mom that "they're looking for any reason to send you back," and worries that she's hiding something.
Later in the episode, it is discovered that Yoli's mother killed two young gang members who broke into their home. Fearing retaliation from the gang, her parents fled to America. This is the basis of her asylum plea.
The storyline will continue throughout the season, but ICE seems like the enemy, that the ICE agents are looking for any reason to deport someone.
