I'm a white Texan and now try to avoid flying anywhere, even in the United States, due to ICE's presence at airports. I'm glad your coworker is such an optimist and sees this as an opportunity, but that's completely illogical. If someone were to tell me that they paid for me to have a one-on-one experience with a caged lion, I'd only see that as an opportunity to practice saying "no." Even if the lion told me it has countless job opportunities for me.