DHS Uses Force Against Protesters, Labels ICE Videotaping Violence

Protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles have escalated, with Homeland Security agents deploying less-lethal weapons and making arrests during demonstrations at the Metropolitan Detention Center, a migrant-holding facility. Protesters accuse ICE of targeting vulnerable communities and suppressing dissent, while maintaining a 24-hour protest camp despite frequent confrontations. Concurrently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under President Trump has declared that filming and posting videos of ICE agents constitutes "doxing" and equates such acts with "violence," threatening prosecution for those recording enforcement activities—even though recording law enforcement in public is protected by the First Amendment. DHS officials, including Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin and Secretary Kristi Noem, have expanded the definition of violence to include videotaping and online sharing of ICE operations, citing concerns for agent safety. Civil liberties groups like the ACLU challenge this stance, pointing out that it misinterprets constitutional rights and overstates threats against ICE personnel, with critics highlighting a lack of evidence supporting DHS's claims of increased violence. This crackdown on filming ICE agents has extended to targeting journalists legally documenting immigration raids, raising significant concerns about transparency and accountability in immigration enforcement.