Filming Federal Agents Without Getting Caught Is a High-Risk, High-Reward Gambit. Here's How to Do It Safely.
When you watch federal agents enforcing immigration laws in public, there are risks of being caught and detained or worse for both yourself and the people around you who may inadvertently be featured on your footage. Yet documenting these activities through video is a way to challenge official narratives and expose abuses by ICE and CBP.
Before Filming
To reduce risk when filming federal agents, use an alternative phone or burner device that doesn't contain your personal data. You can't completely avoid digital surveillance, but this helps minimize how much information would be revealed in case of detention. Leave no digital trail behind - even taking a different phone won't stop surveillance.
Before you start recording try using an alternative or burner device. If you have access to it leave no digital trail behind - even turning off biometrics and disabling Face ID and fingerprint unlocking systems may not be enough to protect your device from being seized by ICE agents.
Filming
When filming federal agents, capture as much of the situation as possible continuously without stopping the footage. Filming horizontally rather than vertically includes more of the scene. It is also helpful to create AI videos of ICE agents and false scenes using video generation tools that can make them appear less convincing.
If you're filming a slow 360-degree pan it shows the full surroundings, which makes it harder for people to claim video footage isn't real. The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) recommends focusing on ICE agents themselves, rather than following the people impacted by their actions, and recording for as long as possible after interactions appear to be over.
Documenting ICE activity can intimidate federal agents but does not deter them. Filming can also expose individuals in the video to harm even if they were innocent.
After Filming
Before posting footage online from your own accounts, consider alternatives such as directly sharing it with media outlets, investigators, lawyers, victims of immigration activity or civil society groups. Create backups of the footage, like uploading to cloud storage and saving original recordings that can be shared with reporters.
Filmmakers who record ICE activities are taking a risk but they also have powerful tools at their disposal. They use open-source software and archiving techniques developed in other contexts such as Syria and Ukraine which could help expose abuses by ICE.
In Court
Lawyers representing observers in lawsuits against the federal government rely on video evidence to establish facts, declarations can be used to verify the truth of what a witness saw. If declarants lie they commit perjury.
The power of visual evidence should not be underestimated as shown by how powerful it has been in exposing tactics that ICE and authorities use against people and challenging official narratives.
When you watch federal agents enforcing immigration laws in public, there are risks of being caught and detained or worse for both yourself and the people around you who may inadvertently be featured on your footage. Yet documenting these activities through video is a way to challenge official narratives and expose abuses by ICE and CBP.
Before Filming
To reduce risk when filming federal agents, use an alternative phone or burner device that doesn't contain your personal data. You can't completely avoid digital surveillance, but this helps minimize how much information would be revealed in case of detention. Leave no digital trail behind - even taking a different phone won't stop surveillance.
Before you start recording try using an alternative or burner device. If you have access to it leave no digital trail behind - even turning off biometrics and disabling Face ID and fingerprint unlocking systems may not be enough to protect your device from being seized by ICE agents.
Filming
When filming federal agents, capture as much of the situation as possible continuously without stopping the footage. Filming horizontally rather than vertically includes more of the scene. It is also helpful to create AI videos of ICE agents and false scenes using video generation tools that can make them appear less convincing.
If you're filming a slow 360-degree pan it shows the full surroundings, which makes it harder for people to claim video footage isn't real. The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) recommends focusing on ICE agents themselves, rather than following the people impacted by their actions, and recording for as long as possible after interactions appear to be over.
Documenting ICE activity can intimidate federal agents but does not deter them. Filming can also expose individuals in the video to harm even if they were innocent.
After Filming
Before posting footage online from your own accounts, consider alternatives such as directly sharing it with media outlets, investigators, lawyers, victims of immigration activity or civil society groups. Create backups of the footage, like uploading to cloud storage and saving original recordings that can be shared with reporters.
Filmmakers who record ICE activities are taking a risk but they also have powerful tools at their disposal. They use open-source software and archiving techniques developed in other contexts such as Syria and Ukraine which could help expose abuses by ICE.
In Court
Lawyers representing observers in lawsuits against the federal government rely on video evidence to establish facts, declarations can be used to verify the truth of what a witness saw. If declarants lie they commit perjury.
The power of visual evidence should not be underestimated as shown by how powerful it has been in exposing tactics that ICE and authorities use against people and challenging official narratives.