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DHS Says Videotaping ICE Agents Is Illegal. Federal Courts Disagree.
Walter Olson /

DHS Says Videotaping ICE Agents Is Illegal. Federal Courts Disagree.

Filming law enforcement serves important goals central to a free republic.
ICE in Little Tokyo
Border Patrol agents march to the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building on Thursday, August 14, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)

The Trump administration last month made explicit what it has been implying for months, namely that it considers videotaping ICE raids to be illegal and intends to go after those who do it. The administration is, effectively, preparing to defy current law: Federal courts have overwhelmingly held that the First Amendment protects the right to record police activity in public spaces.

Walter Olson is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies and writes often on election law.

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