Day 485
Maia calls Diane in her aikido class while on her way to court with a witness. Jay is driving, and they get pulled over, and arrested for the witness's possession of prescription drugs, Avi Epps for possession and Kay for "Driving while black". Maia is a little offended that she's the only one not getting arrested, but goes to get Diane's help.
Four immigration officers show up to Jay's traffic court case, accusing him of having been born in Nigeria and only moving to America as a baby. Marissa discovers that Jay's birth certificate is fake, copied from his younger sister's birth certificate. His real name is Jamil Dokpesi-DiPersia. The state drops the charges against Jay so that ICE can deport him, and the judge falsely accuses Jay of misbehaving in court so they can keep him in custody, buying Liz and Diane time to prevent his deportation.
Arguing before judge Mullaney, Diane uses the same tactics as last time, banking on him not fully understanding court procedure. Jay is called to the stand in Naftali Sweeney's case so he can be remanded into ICE custody after, and Adrian Boseman tries to keep him as long as possible with questions that might not be entirely relevant.
Liz hits on the idea to get Jay an Einstein visa based on his drawings, arguing that Melania Trump is in the country on one. Jay wins.
Tropes
- Blatant Lies: The court judge sets Jay's bail at one hundred dollars when Liz says a thousand is too much for her to pay just then, and only catches on when Diane says she can't even pay ten dollars. The RBL lawyers want Jay in custody so ICE can't deport him and the judge is sympathetic, so she denies bail.
- Central Theme: American immigration politics.
- Fake Twin Gambit: Jay's parents pulled one, telling him and his sister Brigitte they were twins, but she's a year younger. They altered a copy of Brigitte's birth certificate to create a fake one for Jay showing him as having been born in America like his sisters instead of Nigeria, as he was born shortly before they moved and thus wasn't a citizen.
