How To: Use Your 1st Amendment Right and Record ICE Agents

For the first article on this page, I've decided to start with a more basic concept that may permit readers to educate themselves on how to safely and sufficiently document an encounter with ICE. Doing so will not only allow submissions to this blog to be completed in a way that minimizes harm to all victims that may be involved in an incident with ICE, it will allow those same individuals to expand their documentation skills to other situations caused by this administration with relative ease. 

I've considered all my options and decided to make this a series that explains how one might archive various things, updated every other week for the foreseeable future. So, with further ado, welcome to the first post of this series:

HOW TO: RECORD ICE

The first thing you must always be aware of when making and keeping a record is what the law permits. The law in regards to recording ICE does not differ from the guidelines around recording law enforcement. That is to say, you are free to record as long as you do not interfere with any arrests they might be making and as long as you stand on public property. 

Be aware that since most of their actions aren't moral, ICE will likely extend the definition of interference past what is logical or necessary. This does not mean that you have to avoid your duty and avoid recording them. This simply means that you have to be intelligent about it.  If you want to avoid arrest while simultaneously acquiring a clear and complete record, then you you must gain knowledge of the six W's and make sure to follow safety guidelines while doing so. (Disclaimer: This procedure is not applicable when is YOU are being detained by ICE. This is not law advice. This is simply a method for the passerby or relative to document ICE activity. Please visit the ACLU's page on it at the links provided at the conclusion of this article.)

Who:

Information to acquire: Who is being detained? Who do you contact? 

This question should be answered as soon as possible. When you witness an incident occuring, you should begin recording with your phone immediately. With a clear, well-projected voice, ask the name of the person being taken (Spanish version is "¿Cómo te llamas?"). If you are not related the individual, ask if they have any family that you can call (Spanish version is "¿Tienes familia a la que pueda llamar?"). Be aware the individual may be unable to answer due to physical injuries sustained during the detainment.   

Safety Guidelines: If there is no reply, move on to answering the questions from the following section aloud in a clear and consise manner. There is a constant risk that ICE will force you to stop recording, so answering the questions as quickly as possible is in the best interest of you and the detainee. 

Though you might be able to obtain the identities of the agents performing the detainments in an ideal world, it is very unlikely they will answer this question. Most if not all ICE Agents wear masks for the some purpose of hiding their faces, so it's very likely that asking the question repeatedly will only aggravate them, waste time, and cause you to lose valuable archiving information. 

Where:

Information to acquire: Where is the detainment occurring? 

Once you have obtained the information about the individual being detained, you must look at the detainment itself. State your state and city aloud. If you stand near a street corner, look at  the sign and give the camera a clear shot of it. 

Safety Guidelines: If the detainment occurs at your home and you plan to publish the video, do not give a shot of your address. Simply state the state and city. If the detained individual is your relative and you deem it necessary or fruitful, you may share more sensitive details with an immigration lawyer or with the ACLU. 

When:

Information to acquire: When is the detainment occurring? 

This should be the easiest part of the list. When you've established the location, look at your phone and note the time aloud on camera, clearly. Once the detainment has concluded, you should to note the time again to provide an intact timeframe. Having such a a timeframe will assist with the record. 

Safety Guidelines: As I stated prior, this is very simple and thus, very difficult to mess up. The only thing you may have to concern yourself with is not hyper-fixating on the time, though I sincerely doubt that will be an issue. 

Why:

Information to acquire: Why is this individual being detained? 

This component is a bit more flexible than the others, which makes nailing it down all the harder. According to research done by the CATO Institute in June of this year, 93% of people taken by ICE had no violent criminal record and 65% had no record at all. This means that in most cases, the person being arrested won't have an answer for it. It may be something as mundane as a speeding ticket from years ago or it may be nothing at all. Still, all possible information should be gathered. 

In a calm voice, ask the detained individual if they've committed any crimes. More than likely, they will not answer. That's perfectly fine and rational, considering the circumstances. If they do not provide a response, turn to the agents and ask why the individual is being arrested. If they do not answer, move on to the next part. 

Safety Guidelines: If the person being detained does not answer, do not repeat the question. The events happening to them are stressful enough without someone repeating something over and over again. 

What:

Information to acquire: What is happening to the detainee? 

 With the camera steady in your hand, observe the detainment and note aloud any physical injury occurring to the detained party. This includes but is not limited to: being slammed to the ground, acquiring scrapes, acquiring bruises, or being handled in such a way that triggers a medical event, such as a seizure. 

Safety Guidelines: Watching injury and maltreatment of another person is no small feat and ICE and will do everything in their power to keep you from doing so. Compassion for other humans is a gift that separates us from those doing the detaining, and this administration is perfectly aware of that fact. While you document their behavior, ICE agents will likely try to intimidate you in a myriad of ways. This may include standing in front of you or increasing their brutality towards the detainee. Do not let this deter you. Make sure you have a clear shot through the camera instead. 

Afterwards:

What becomes of the information you have gathered after the detainment really depends on what's best for that individual situation. If you're related to the detained individual, then you may want to go about contacting the ACLU or an immigration lawyer. If you're simply a passerby, it may be of benefit to publish the information on a social media platform of some kind. You might even want to send the information to this blog, considering this is exactly the thing we aim to document here. 

This all may seem inconsequential at first, but it's quickly becoming a vital market in our current times. With larger media's staunch refusal to cover the dozens of arrests happening everyday, non-professional recorded incidents are the only way we know about many of these incidents. If you yourself cannot cease the horrors happening daily in our country, then it becomes your duty to immortialize them in some way. So, always document and always archive. If not now, then for the day when we may overcome this. 

Resources: 

For when YOU are being detained- ACLU-Know Your Rights

For when you'd like to join a protest-  Indivisible, 50501

Contact me with experiences with this administration you'd like shared and ideas-  Here