How to film ICE | Wired

In January 2026, Two Americans were killed while monitoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Minneapolis. Renee Nicole Goode was working as a legal observer while his wife recorded the federal immigration agents they encountered. Alex Pretty had a phone in his hand, filming the agents who would soon take his life. However, as dangerous as mere surveillance was for victims of violence committed by ICE and Border Patrol, video is also what documented their murders, and is now holding federal agents accountable.

This is the paradox that US residents face when deciding how to resist and record ICE’s invasion of American cities.

“Unfortunately, there is no way to film ‘safely’ right now — I think everyone would be taking a risk because of how aggressive, rude and completely illegal ICE is,” says Trevor Timm, co-founder and executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. (Disclosure: WIRED’s global managing editor is on the board of the Freedom of the Press Foundation.) “Alex Peretti was killed in part because he was filming ICE, which is an absolute travesty. But we saw that filming from six angles because there were other people filming, too. And because they were filming, we saw the terrible lies that the Trump administration was spreading almost immediately.”

This tension has been present for more than two decades across the world, as widespread access to smartphones has made video documentation and live streaming a pivotal tool for activists and other concerned people looking to expose injustice and influence political discourse. In the United States, people with cameras or smartphones are targeted by federal agents despite the First Amendment to the US Constitution protecting government operators’ recording activity in public places.

However, Trump administration officials have tried to hide this fact, as immigration enforcement surges across the country. In July, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the documentation of federal agents “violence,” claiming that “this kind of defames them. It’s videotaping them where they are.”

Likewise, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told WIRED in a statement that “videotaping our officers in an attempt to track them down and reveal their identities is a federal offense and a felony.” DHS has maintained this position — despite the fact that ICE agents are, by DHS’s questionable definition, “defaming” themselves.

This rhetoric represents a direct threat to anyone recording ICE agents, whether they are legal observers, activists or reporters, says Jackie Zamuto, associate director at Witness, a nonprofit dedicated to using video to fight human rights abuses.

“Video documentation has the power to expose abuses, help call for accountability, and challenge official narratives,” Zammuto says. “At the same time, we are definitely seeing an increase in the targeting of documenters – including journalists who have been labeled as journalists – even when they are doing so legally, and even when they are respecting police orders. It is a huge risk, and I think it is important for people to balance that risk with their comfort in taking it.”

However, Zammuto also points out that there are practical tips to protect yourself while recording authority figures like ICE agents. “There are ways to be safer, and to take into consideration your own security as well as the security of those around you,” Zammuto says.

Here are some tips WIRED gathered from speaking to those who have used the extreme act of pointing video cameras at authority figures for activism, in the media, and in court.

Before filming

When photographing ICE or Customs and Border Protection officers, or generally recording events at a protest, using an alternative or regular phone can help protect your privacy and the privacy of those around you. However, leaving no digital trace at all is difficult to achieve: Immigration officials have built extensive surveillance capabilities, including purchasing online advertising data, deploying surveillance drones, leveraging license plate reader networks, and accessing systems that can monitor cell phones across entire neighborhoods.

Besides widespread surveillance, ICE or Border Patrol access to your phone may pose direct digital surveillance risks, either while you are at the scene or later if you are detained and they take your device to extract data. If you’re bringing your everyday device to a demonstration, turn off biometrics, disable all Face ID and fingerprint unlocking systems, and instead use a password or PIN to secure your device. Officials must have a warrant or court order to demand a PIN or passcode from you, while it’s legally easier to force you to unlock your device using biometrics.