As Migrant Arrests and Deportations Increase, Remember You Have the Right To Record ICE
Like it or loathe it, the Trump administration is delivering on one of its campaign promises: stepped-up removal of migrants who illegally entered the U.S. Arrests are up, deportations are up, and President Donald Trump and his “border czar” Tom Homan say they want more. But whether you favor deportation, are on the fence in hopes that efforts will focus on dangerous criminals, or view the whole operation as monstrous, we should agree that, like all law enforcement activity, arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be carried out with regard for people’s civil liberties. Public scrutiny goes a long way toward ensuring that agents of the government respect legally protected rights.
Recording Helps Keep Cops Honest
The “why” of filming government enforcers should be obvious. Last year, Reason‘s Jacob Sullum wrote about Sonya Massey, who was killed in her home by Sangamon County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson. Video of the incident contradicted Grayson’s claim that Massey attacked him with boiling water. The county has since settled with her family for $10 million and Grayson awaits trial for first-degree murder. In other incidents, video has exonerated officers facing bogus accusations. Either way, recording encounters between law enforcement and the public adds clarity.
“Filming ICE agents making an arrest or amassing in your town helps promote transparency and accountability for a system that often relies on intimidation and secrecy and obscures abuse and law-breaking,” point out Saira Hussain, Sophia Cope, and Matthew Guariglia of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
To that end, the EFF and other groups including WITNESS and the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) offer guidance so that people documenting actions by ICE—or by any law enforcement officers—can properly maintain their role as observers without becoming unwilling participants.
You Have a Right To Record Law Enforcers
“The public has a right – regardless of immigration status – under the First Amendment and the Right to Record Act, to record video and take pictures in public places,” note
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