“The vast majority of the people who are out protesting weren’t directly affected by the immigration raids,” said Du.
“They’re fighting for other people because they believe that America is an idea — that it receives whoever comes here to make an honest living.”
That idea, and the question of whom it belongs to, runs through the series. It also surfaces in some second-generation Asian Americans whose parents migrated legally, but who now challenge long-held stigmas within their communities around illegal migrants.
For Du, ICE Nation completes a story that never really ended at the border, because “what comes afterwards is such a big, important part of the story”, she said.
Walk The Line: ICE Nation premieres at 7pm on Thursday. Catch Part 2 in the same time slot on Friday.