Indian-origin US immigration attorney, accuses ICE of giving her a Taco Bell number, DHS denies the claim

A video has gone viral on TikTok and other social media platforms showing Trisha Chatterjee, an immigration attorney, claiming that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) gave her the phone number of a Taco Bell outlet.

In the video, Chatterjee states that she had been trying to reach the ICE office for several days in order to obtain information regarding the next steps for her clients. 

After making multiple attempts and contacting several officers, one person finally answered her call. She asked if she could speak to someone who could assist her, and the man responded that he knew exactly who could help. He then gave her a number, which she says was ‘614-261-8193’. According to Chatterjee, this number turned out to be for a Taco Bell location in Columbus, Ohio.

The video quickly went viral, prompting a response from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). On their official X (formerly Twitter) account, DHS denied the claim, stating: “This is nothing but lying for likes. Once again, activists and the media are attempting to smear our brave ICE law enforcement officers, who are already facing an 830% increase in assaults against them”.

The statement further added: “ICE did not give immigration attorney Trisha Chatterjee, the woman in the TikTok video, a phone number to a Taco Bell”.

Homeland Security also said that after Chatterjee posted the video, ICE attempted to reach out to her to gather information about her clients. They claim she was provided with several avenues to directly contact ICE and help resolve any issues, but she has made no attempt to follow up with the agency.