In January 2026, two Americans were killed in the act watching Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Minneapolis. Renee Nicole Good acted as a legal observer while his wife recorded the federal immigration agents they encountered. Alex Pretty holding a phone in his hand, filming the agents who would soon take his life. But as dangerous as the mere act of observation has become for victims of ICE and Border Patrol violence, the video is also what documents their murders and now holds federal agents accountable.

That’s the paradox that United States residents face as they make their decision how to resist—and record—ICE’s raids on American cities.

“Unfortunately, there’s no way to film ‘safely’ right now—I think everyone could be at risk because of how aggressive and brutal and outright illegal ICE’s behavior is,” said Trevor Timm, cofounder and executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. (Disclosure: WIRED’s global editorial director sits on the Freedom of the Press Foundation’s board.) “Alex Pretti was killed in part because he was filming ICE, which is a complete travesty. But we saw the shooting from half a dozen angles because there were other people there filming as well. And because they were filming, we saw the administration’s terrible lies spread almost immediately.”

This tension has existed for more than two decades worldwide due to the widespread access to smartphones video documentation and livestreaming is an essential tool for activists and other concerned people seeking to expose injustice and influence political discourse. In the US, people with cameras or smartphones are targeted by federal agents despite the First Amendment of the US Constitution protecting the recording activity of government operators in public places.

Trump administration officials have tried to hide this fact, however, as immigration enforcement operations have increased across the country. In July, Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem called documenting federal agents’ “violence,” claiming: “It’s degrading them. It’s videotaping them where they are.”

DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin similarly told WIRED in a statement that “videotaping our officers in an effort to frame them and reveal their identities is a federal crime and a felony.” DHS maintains this position—despite the fact that, by DHS’s own questionable definition, ICE agents “doxed” themselves.

That rhetoric represents a direct threat to anyone recording ICE agents, whether they are legal observers, activists or journalists, said Jackie Zammuto, associate director of Witness, a nonprofit devoted to the use. video to fight human rights violations.

“Video documentation has the power to expose abuses, to help call for accountability, and to challenge official narratives,” Zammuto said. “At the same time, we really see an increase in documenters being targeted—including journalists labeled as journalists—even if they do it legally, even if they respect the orders from the police. It’s a big risk, and I think it’s important for people to weigh the risk and their own comfort in taking it.”

However, Zammuto also knows that there are practical tips to protect yourself in the act of recording authority figures like ICE agents. “There are ways to be safer, to consider your own security and also the security of those around you,” Zammuto said.

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

Before Filming

When filming ICE or Customs and Border Protection agents, or more generally recording the events of a protest, using an alternative or burner phone can help protect your privacy and that around you. However, leaving no digital trace behind is difficult to achieve: Immigration officials have established extensive surveillance capabilities, including buy online advertising DATAdeployment and surveillance dronestap on license plate reader network, and access to systems that can monitor mobile phones throughout the neighborhood.

Beyond widespread surveillance, ICE or Border Patrol access to your phone can pose direct digital surveillance risks, whether you’re on the scene or at a later date when you’re detained and they take your device to get the data. If you bring your everyday device to a protest, turn off biometrics, disable all Face ID and fingerprint unlocking systems, and use a password or PIN instead to secure your device. Officers must have a warrant or court order to request a PIN or passcode from you, while it is legal for them to force you to unlock your device with biometrics.