‘Know your rights,’ but also ‘know your risks’: Experts weigh in on safety for ICE observers

The First Amendment right to observe and record law enforcement officers has proven instrumental in documenting violence by federal immigration enforcement and critical to a nationwide resistance movement.

“The right to record is fundamental to holding government accountable. People can’t protest or even evaluate what they can’t see,” said David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition based in Northern California.

Cell phone videos filmed by witnesses have provided critical details about what happened when federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis and other uses of force against civilians.

But the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have also stoked fear that people who record or otherwise monitor federal immigration operations risk arrest.

“We are in a moment that’s kind of unprecedented in terms of the use of force against people who are observing, bystanding, recording,” said Saira Hussain, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for digital privacy and free speech, during a town hall this month.

The San Diego Union-Tribune consulted local attorneys and guides published by civil liberties groups on how people seeking to document law enforcement can exercise their rights safely and lawfully.

Experts say people should know their rights but caution that exercising them can come with risks, and people need to balance First Amendment freedoms with thei...