If You Witness a Raid
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General information, not legal advice. These guides are written by the community, laws vary by state, and policies change. For advice about your own situation, talk to an immigration lawyer (how to find a real one, free if needed).
You can be the reason a family finds out what happened. Witnesses who stay calm, keep distance, and document well are one of the most valuable parts of this record.
Your rights as a witness
You have the right to observe and record immigration enforcement happening in public, from a safe distance, without interfering. Agents may tell you to leave; you can comply while continuing to film from further away.
Do
- Call the rapid response line first if your area has one, so trained responders and lawyers mobilize: see Emergency Hotlines and Rapid Response.
- Record wide and steady. Narrate facts out loud: time, place, number of agents, what they are doing. See Recording Incidents Safely.
- Collect the details that matter: agency names on vests, badge numbers, vehicle plates and descriptions, how many people were taken, the direction they left. Full list at Information to Document.
- Talk to the family if they are present and willing: help them note the A-number if known, and point them to If a Loved One Is Detained.
- Report it afterwards: drop your footage and details into the record at ICE List:Submit a link or How to Report an Incident.
Do not
- Do not physically block agents, touch them, or reach into vehicles. Interference charges are real and they end your usefulness as a witness.
- Do not post detained people's faces without thinking. Their family may not know yet, and exposure can complicate their case. When in doubt, blur faces of detainees and bystanders, never of agents.
- Do not spread unverified sightings. Panic hurts the community. Report to a rapid response network and let them verify, or check details yourself before posting.
Afterwards
Care for the gaps a raid leaves behind: children at school with nobody coming, shifts uncovered, pets, food. Community response is part of witness work too.