Korean-American comedian Margaret Cho turned down role in Canada 'because of Trump,' ICE

San Francisco-born Korean-American comedian Margaret Cho recently declined a part in the show "Heated Rivalry" because the pilot was shooting in Canada and she was afraid of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "It's all because of Trump," she said. Cho proudly says that she "has been a political comedian for [her] entire career."

Cho did not want to leave the United States while President Trump was in office over fears that she would be detained, she told Variety. There have been reports of ICE detaining US citizens, including 20 minor children who were born in the US who are detained with their illegal immigrant parents. ICE has also arrested and detained 130 US citizens who obstructed of assaulted ICE officers. ProPublica documents few other cases where citizens have been detained.

In a Supreme Court ruling, the majority opinion penned by Brett Kavanaugh, he wrote that immigration enforcement officers are meant to release any US citizen accidentally detained. "If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U. S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, they promptly let the individual go. If the individual is illegally in the United States, the officers may arrest the individual and initiate the process for removal. Immigration stops based on reasonable suspicion of illegal presence have been an important component of U. S. immigration enforcement for decades, across several presidential administrations."

"There's things that I haven't done that I should've done," she said, speaking about parts she wished she'd done. "Last year, I got a pilot script for a show that I really loved. But it shot in Canada, and I was so scared because I'm so vocal about haring ICE and hating this administration. I was like 'I will get detained at the border and I will be put in ICE detention if I go.'"

"I was struggling over it," she went on, "and I talked to all these people about it, and I was super upset about it, and I said no. And it was 'Heated Rivalry.'" The HBO Max show is about gay hockey players and was touted by NHL head Gary Bettman, who said he binge-watched the show and loved it. "It's a wonderful story," he said.

"The content—particularly for young people—may be a little spicy, so you have to balance that out with how you embrace it." He went on to say that he thought it was "a lot of fun" and "very well done."

Cho said that she watched the show and has hosted "rewatch parties" for it as well. Cho has appeared in multiple sitcoms and films and has toured her own comedy stand-up around the country and the world.