YIKES

ICE Shuts Down Immigration Hotline Featured on ‘Orange Is the New Black’

Less than two weeks after the hotline was featured on the show, ICE shut down the real thing.

After an episode of Orange Is the New Black featured an immigration hotline for detained migrants, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement shut down the real thing. According to The Los Angeles Times, the Freedom for Immigrants hotline was shut down less than two weeks after it was prominently featured in the fifth episode of the Netflix show’s last season. In the July 26 episode, one character celebrated the discovery of the hotline after finding out she would be subject to deportation proceedings. “You have to be careful, though,” another character told her. “Apparently if they figure out that you’re using the hotline, Big Brother shuts it down.”

Freedom for Immigrants responded to the shutdown on Thursday with a cease-and-desist letter, claiming the move was a violation of free speech. Six actors from the show and over 100 organizations also signed a letter to ICE Director Matthew Albence demanding the hotline be restored. The agency did not respond to a request for comment.