While some cities have attempted to craft protective policies to minimize ICE interference, these agents are relentlessly finding loopholes to exploit these communities. In New York City, where local officials have declared that the city would resist the White House’s crackdown, ICE raids are still happening. A new battlefront for these officers has become the courthouses of the city.

In an effort to educate and inform people that they have the right to film and document ICE officials, WITNESS along with Immigrant Defense Project (IDP), and New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) created a new resource informing people of their rights to film at courthouses.

The information in this resource is specific to a New York City-based audience, but many aspects can be applicable to communities in other spaces. It offers important information about your rights and best practices for documenting an incident. Remember: Always use your best judgment and assess risks to yourself and those you are filming before hitting “record”.

For more on our work to combat ICE abuses, check out our series, “Eyes on ICE.”

Whether it be hateful slurs directed at Muslim immigrants, acts of discrimination that target indigenous peoples, or violence against minority populations in South and Southeast Asia, hatred towards vulnerable communities is increasingly gaining momentum. Viral videos shared on social media in recent times have particularly played an important role in exposing violations against humanity that stoke the flames of hatred and prejudice.

To ensure that video footage of acts of hatred is verifiable and has evidentiary value in a court of law, there are certain tips and techniques that will augment the efforts of activists, journalists, filmmakers and citizens on the ground. It’s important to understand how you can help as a witness to hate-fuelled crime.

Translations in Burmese, Tamil and Sinhala will be available soon.
To learn more, follow our Asia-Pacific team on Twitter and Facebook.