Lawyer Confronts ICE Agents in Video Viewed Over 16M Times: ‘Must Be a New Policy’

A lawyer confronted Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officers—a branch of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—in a new TikTok video that has drawn more than 16 million views on the platform.

James Rivera, a Virginia-based immigration lawyer, filmed and posted a video on Monday in which several HSI agents were searching for his client.

“ICE showing up five deep and armed at one of my clients house, claiming to be doing a welfare check on a minor waiting for a Green Card,” Rivera wrote in the caption.

ICE — Stock image: Sign for a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

Photo by Matt Gush / Getty Images

‘This must be a new policy’

In the video, Rivera pulled up in front of a house with five people standing in the driveway. One of the agents was leaning against the house.

Rivera and the agents asked for and exchanged identification and the HSI agent explained that they were waiting for Rivera’s client.

In a phone interview with Newsweek, Rivera said that the agents’ stated purpose was a welfare check to investigate potential child trafficking, to which Rivera responded that he had never heard of ICE or HSI conducting welfare checks, “so this must be a new policy.”

According to Rivera, the agent said the investigations should have been happening all along.

“I’ve never heard of it, ever. Ever ever,” Rivera told Newsweek.

“Unaccompanied minor being checked on by Homeland Security Investigations to make sure they are OK? I told them she is OK. He was like, ‘Well, we need to hear from her’.”

‘I’m going to wonder what’s going on’

At one point, the agent mistook Rivera’s assistant—who rode along with him—for the woman in question.

Rivera clarified to Newsweek that the agents were looking for an unaccompanied minor who is now an adult waiting for her Green Card. He added that the situation was especially concerning because of Donald Trump’s policy of deporting unaccompanied minor children.

“So when you have a group from HSI, Homeland Security Investigations, looking to check—quote unquote—on unaccompanied minors, I’m going to wonder what’s going on,” Rivera said.

The lawyer said the agent was not forthcoming when asked whose authority the agents were working under.

“They don’t have warrants,” Rivera told Newsweek.

“I don’t know what authority they are working under because he didn’t explain it to me, but this is voluntary, according to him.”

‘You showed up with five people with guns’

Rivera said that his client’s court case was “being closed by the judge” and that they were just waiting on a priority date for her Green Card.

The HSI agents asked to see the client again. Rivera said they could all meet at his office and they all parted ways.

According to Rivera, another of his clients in the area called him two hours later to say that ICE was at her door.

“My assistant went over there and it was the same crew,” Rivera said.

“The same five people at another one of my clients’ house.”

Rivera told Newsweek that the agent did contact him later and that he had seen Rivera’s viral video.

“One of the things he said was, ‘Hey, thanks for posting that video, I saw your video on TikTok, you edited out all the good stuff and you made my job harder’,” Rivera said.

“My response was, ‘I made your job harder? You showed up with five people with guns and I made your job harder?'”

According to Rivera, the agent did attempt to set up a time to talk at Rivera’s office. Rivera added that he will not allow five armed agents to enter his office.

“It’s intimidating,” he said.