An Indian-origin immigration lawyer in the US has claimed she received Taco Bell’s number when she was trying to contact US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for assistance with her clients. An Ohio-based lawyer, Trisha Chatterjee, said she had been trying to reach ICE for days. After finally getting a response, she was disappointed to find that the number belonged to the fast-food outlet in the Columbus area.
The claim was made in a TikTok video and is being shared on other social media platforms too.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has rejected the claims, saying the allegations are “nothing but lying for likes”.
The lawyer needed guidance from ICE on ways to submit paperwork for her clients held at Butler County Jail. After days without a response, she finally got through to an ICE officer who said he could give her the phone number of someone who could help, according to an Ohio-based newspaper, The Cincinnati Enquirer.
“For the very first time, finally somebody answered me, and I was genuinely so excited to have somebody who was going to help us and give us some information,” she told The Enquirer.
“So, to get a Taco Bell phone number instead was definitely disheartening,” the news outlet quoted her as saying.
LIES FOR LIKES:DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY REJECTS CLAIMS
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded strongly to the claims, calling the allegations “nothing but lying for likes” and accusing activists and the media of unfairly attacking ICE officers.
“This is nothing but lying for likes. Once again, activists and the media are attempting to smear our brave ICE law enforcement, who are already facing an 830% increase in assaults against them. ICE did not give immigration attorney Trisha Chatterjee, the woman in the TikTok video, a phone number to a Taco Bell,” DHS said in a statement on Sunday (US time).
The DHS said that attempts have been made to reach out to her, but she did not make any attempt to contact ICE.
“After she posted the video, ICE even attempted to reach out to her to get her information on her clients. She was provided several avenues to directly contact ICE and help resolve any issues, but she has made no attempt to contact the agency,” the post further read.
The TikTok video went viral on social media.
Chatterjee was trying to file a “stay of removal” request to halt deportation proceedings, according to The Enquirer.
Chatterjee wanted to submit a “stay of removal” for some of her clients. This protection prevents the DHS from deporting immigrants who are actively pursuing legal status or humanitarian protection, or are challenging their removal order. Homeland Security accepts or rejects these applications, The Enquirer reported.
“We have a number of people who are detained right now who have cases pending before US Citizenship and Immigration Services, or before the court,” the newspaper quoted Chatterjee as saying. “They’ve got immigration proceedings already pending,” she added.
Stay of removal requests must be submitted in person at the regional ICE field office – in this case, located in Detroit for Ohio cases. Based in Greater Cincinnati, Chatterjee had hoped to find an alternative way to file.
She said she called and e-mailed ICE and the Detroit field office asking if she could instead submit these applications at a closer ICE office in Blue Ash but got no response, according to the report.
She received another ICE contact number from Butler County Jail, which she noted had previously connected her with responsive agents.
The ICE agent who picked up the phone gave her another number to call, Chatterjee said. That number allegedly went to a Taco Bell in Columbus.
“I called and they answered and they said, ‘Hello, Taco Bell?’ And I said, ‘Taco Bell?’ And the guy who was working said, ‘Yeah, Taco Bell. Ma’am, you called me,” Chatterjee recalled, The Enquirer reported.
“I was in such disbelief,” she said. “So, I called the ICE officer back, just really frustrated with what had just happened. He says, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I was trying to lighten the mood and make you laugh,” according to The Enquirer.
WHO IS TRISHA CHATTERJEE?
Trisha Chatterjee, an immigration lawyer of Indian origin, practices in Greater Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio.
She graduated from Miami University in 2020 and earned her law degree from the University of Dayton in 2023, according to her LinkdIn profile.
According to The Enquirer, Chatterjee works for the Law Office of Emily Feliz Garcia, Ohio, a small firm based in Springdale. Before that, she worked for Abdallah Law Offices in West Chester.
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