Skill Level: Intermediate
The Tool
Your camera is a weapon — but only if you know how to use it. This guide teaches how to safely record ICE raids, police brutality, or other government abuses while protecting yourself and the people you’re filming. Good footage can change history; bad footage can put lives in danger.
Why It Matters
Video evidence has freed wrongfully detained people, exposed perjury, and proven unconstitutional actions by ICE, police, and private contractors. But shaky, geotagged, or carelessly posted videos can reveal safehouse locations or get witnesses targeted. Learning how to film smart keeps your footage powerful and your community safe.
Real Example
In 2023, a bystander filmed an ICE agent drawing a gun during a Florida workplace raid. The video helped lawyers prove the arrest was illegal — but the unedited clip also exposed workers’ license plates and faces online. The footage helped and hurt. The lesson: always film, but film wisely.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Before Filming
- Charge your phone and carry a power bank.
- Turn off geotagging and facial recognition.
- Install secure tools like Signal or the Know Your Rights Camp App.
- Write down your legal hotline number and memorize: “I’m recording in public.”
- Always film from a public space unless you have explicit consent to enter.
During Filming
- Hold your phone horizontally.
- Start with a wide shot to show time, place, and context.
- Narrate briefly: “ICE officers detaining people outside Tampa at 4:12 PM.”
- Focus on actions — not faces of vulnerable people.
- If an officer covers their badge, say it out loud for the record.
- Never interfere or touch an officer. Your job is witness, not hero.
After Filming
- Save the raw file to encrypted storage immediately.
- Do not upload raw footage online. Send it securely to trusted journalists, lawyers, or immigrant-rights organizations.
- Strip metadata before sharing publicly.
- If publishing, blur faces of civilians and victims.
- Keep a written chain of custody: who recorded, when, who received it.
Kitty’s Rallying Advice
Your phone is your shield. Your footage is your roar. Film injustice, but do it smart — encrypted, verified, and safe. ICE fears two things: accountability and cameras that know their rights.
Sources
- EFF Surveillance Self-Defense: Filming the Police
- National Immigration Law Center
- Freedom of the Press Foundation — SecureDrop