A Brief Guide to Observing and Recording ICE Arrests: Tips learned from Rapid Response Teams Across the Country

Immigration enforcement agencies have made it clear they are widening their dragnet to include anyone they suspect of being in the country unlawfully, even if they have no evidence.  

In practice, ICE will often stage around large, secluded parking lots and envoys of unmarked (and often plate-swapped) vehicles will deploy to Home Depots, car washes, street vendor hotspots, construction sites, and Black and Brown neighborhoods looking for those who “look” like they may be in the country without authorization. DHS will often, without evidence, claim that they are targeting those with violent criminal histories and/or those affiliated with gangs or international smuggling rings. The evidence collected by witnesses, family members, and community organizers after arrests usually does not corroborate these claims nor DHS’ social media fearmongering campaigns. 

Aside from these unpredictable roving patrols, the other way ICE often targets individuals is with DHS administrative warrants. These are often served with “knock and talk” operations where ICE will visit someone’s home and attempt to engage with them in order to enter the home and take their targets into custody. It is absolutely crucial to distinguish these types of warrants from judicial warrants, which are signed by a judge and grant ICE the necessary legal power to enter without consent. Without the latter warrant, they are barred from entering any individual’s home without consent from the person living there. 

For information about how you can assert your rights against unlawful searches, visit ilrc.me/protect for multilingual resources like our “red cards” and Family Preparedness Plans. 

If you decide you are willing to act as witness to enforcement activities, either as a volunteer for a local rapid response network or as a good Samaritan that witnesses an attempted ICE abduction on the street, it is important to understand what the law says about your rights to do so.
 

Maybe. There may be some risk associated with recording public immigration enforcement operations, but it has less to do with legal restrictions against doing so. The law is clear: Filming any law enforcement personnel in public – be they local police or federal immigration officials – is lawful activity protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, regardless of the person’s immigration status. States like California and New York also have laws advancing such protections.

The best way to avoid escalation is to record ICE (1) in a public place, or where you have a right to be, (2) at a safe distance without physically blocking officers (3) affirmatively complying with officers/agents’ instructions to move back if asked, and (4) using your independent judgment to keep the situation calm. Safest is to remain at least far enough away from the officer/agent to require them to walk toward you. If asked to move back by law enforcement, safest is to do so while also saying aloud  “I am moving back” -- while still filming the encounter if you so choose. 

Though your activity may be legal, ICE may claim you are interfering with the arrest even when you are not. We advise anyone willing to capture these incidents to prioritize their safety, the safety of those around them, and assess their own personal risk, especially if they are noncitizens. If agents are behaving aggressively or threatening bystanders with arrest, it is reasonable to expect they may physically act on those threats – even if the bystanders are not breaking the law. 
 

Planning in advance for the possibility of arrest and custody is critical. Before observing or filming:

• Notify family or friends that have the capacity to take action on your behalf , if this is a planned action.
• Write the phone number of a trusted family member or friend on your arm as well as the number of your local rapid response network.
• Provide the friend or family member with a list of any necessary medications and where they are located in your home.
• Delete face or print access to your phone and use passcode access only or consider obtaining a “burner” phone.
• Wear comfortable clothes and carry water (which agents may or may not let you bring if in custody).

If you are taken into custody:

• If you are stopped, ask the officer if you are free to leave. If they say yes, it is best to remain calm and walk away. If held, ask why you are being detained.
• Do not fight back against ICE agents or other officers. You are not legally required to prove your U.S. citizenship, but stating that you are and/or offering to provide proof could reduce your time in detention or even result in your immediate release. ICE agents do not have the right to detain U.S. citizens unless they have committed a federal crime in the agent’s presence, such as impeding a federal officer or obstruction of justice.
• It is your right to deny access to your phone unless the officer has a search warrant specifying your name and property to be searched.
• If you are arrested, say you wish to remain silent and ask for a lawyer immediately. Don't answer any questions or give any explanations or excuses. Don't say anything, sign anything or make any decisions without a lawyer. Please see more guidance at https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/stopped-by-police.
• You have the right to make a local phone call. Agents cannot listen if you call a lawyer. They can and often will listen to a call made to anyone else.
  • If you do not have an attorney, request to be allowed to make a call and either call the rapid response number or contact your trusted family member or friend and ask them to contact rapid response and/or your attorney, if you have one, and tell them your location, if you know.
• Ask family or friend to bring your necessary medications to where you are being detained.
• If you are detained on suspicion of violating civil immigration laws, continue to question the reason for your detention, and assert your legal status, if applicable, and request release. 
• Your friends or family could also contact your Congressional representative to advocate your release.

• Anyone arrested for a criminal offense has the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, the court will appoint an attorney—often a federal public defender—to represent you. Your attorney will defend you against any crimes you are charged with.
• If you believe you have been illegally arrested and/or detained, you could sue ICE for unlawful arrest, unlawful search and/or seizure of property, and unlawful detention. Many U.S. citizens are already doing so.
• If you believe your constitutionally protected rights have been violated, it is important to attain any information that can be of use to challenge the arrest in court. This includes video and eyewitness accounts. Writing down badge numbers, license plate numbers, agency names, and other helpful information is key.
• The ACLU also recommends taking this information and filing a written complaint with the agency's internal affairs division or civilian complaint board. You can also reach out to your local ACLU affiliate by visiting https://www.aclu.org/affiliates

Note: Our guide is meant to keep volunteers and organizers safer and limit their risk of arrest or bodily injury. You may decide that your risk threshold is higher. While we do not advise anybody to violate the law — especially activity that may adversely affect one’s immigration case — everyone should make their own informed decisions and prioritize their and others' safety whenever possible.

• When in a public space, you have the right to film anything in plain view – which includes law enforcement officers, like local police and sheriff deputies, and federal immigration agents, like ICE and CBP – under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This does not apply in all places, like private properties with rules against filming/photographing or areas in which other privacy laws may be at play, such as hospital rooms or classrooms. Be mindful of local rules about recording if filming in a courthouse.
• Remain in public spaces and do not enter private property or restricted areas without clear permission.
• ICE agents do not have the authority to confiscate your camera or mobile device without a proper warrant signed by a judge, nor can they force you to view or delete any images or footage you have recorded. Observers filming in Minneapolis have suggested obtaining lanyards to wear cell phones in case they are knocked out of your hand.
• As stressful as a situation may be, it is most helpful to maintain a calm demeanor and avoid escalating any confrontation. If officers/agents are aggressive or combative toward you, it is better to capture it than to intervene and put yourself or loved ones at risk of bodily harm.
• Do not physically interfere with arrests or block their vehicle(s) path. If agents order you to move away from the scene you are recording, it is important to step back and move to a reasonable distance while verbally stating on the video that you are complying with their commands. Even if you think a request is unlawful, it is still usually safest to follow the command, document or record what happened, and assess afterwards if there is an opportunity to challenge it. If you are observing while in a vehicle it is critically important you obey local traffic laws, remain at a safe distance, and avoid driving in any sudden or threatening ways near officers. DHS has consistently characterized vehicles as deadly weapons and even killed an unarmed woman recently who was driving because they accused her of threatening them with her car. Some states, like California, prohibit holding a cell phone while driving, and in such cases you will want to have a passenger filming, not the driver.
• When recording, it is most helpful to capture details like:
  • Paperwork officers/agents are presenting
  • Agent badges (can be read aloud if too small to capture on camera)
  • Agents’ vehicles and license plates
  • CCTV/surveillance cameras in the area that capture other angles or perspectives of what you are recording
  • Property damage, visible injuries, or physical harm committed by the agents
• Prior to approaching any scene, ensure you turn off any biometric locks for your phone, such as fingerprint or Face ID. A numeric passcode is a stronger safeguard and requires a warrant signed by a judge to gain access to your mobile device. Remember you may refuse to consent to their search or unlock your phone if asked, no matter how politely or aggressively they urge you to do so.
• Safely save a raw/original copy of the footage you record in secured cloud storage and avoid editing/changing the original video of the activities you capture. Altering the footage can generate unintended risk and damage the credibility of your recording.
• It is critical to only share photo/video content on social media or share with local rapid responders if you have received permission to do so from those you film and/or if you have been advised to share after speaking with a trusted advocacy group. Publishing the content could jeopardize the person’s case if the right measures are not taken. It is best first to contact the impacted person’s family members and/or attorney to determine if the video may be useful to them and/or if they are willing to provide permission to share the content.
• If you are uploading any images or a copy of a video to social media, do not share the copy without blurring victims’ faces or identifying information (e.g., license plates, tattoos, vendors with names or phone numbers in signage, etc.) or editing in such a way that omits them. This is very important for the individuals’ safety. There are free tools online that can aid in blurring faces prior to uploading videos online.
• Follow the S.A.L.U.T.E. method when recording and notifying local rapid response teams in your area. It may be helpful to include these six details while recording, either capturing them in video or stating them aloud. This helps prevent misremembering after high-tension situations:
  • Size – How many agents/officers did you observe?
    • Ex.: “4-6 agents in 2 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs”
  • Activity – What specific actions did you observe?
    • Ex.: “I saw them questioning a group of men in a car wash driveway”
  • Location – Where did you see the activity?
    • Ex.: “They were on Monroe Ave. between Main St. and Olympic Ave.”
  • Uniform – What were they wearing?
    • Ex.: “They were dressed in plain clothes with tactical vests, face coverings, and ‘Department of Homeland Security’ patches”
  • Time – What was the time/date of the activity? 
    • Ex.: “It was between 1pm-1:15pm on June 23rd”
  • Equipment – What gear or weapons were they carrying?
    • Ex.: “Agents were seen holding pepper ball rifles and had sidearms”