Justice and Human Rights United States Project #26455

Documenting the Truth in the U.S. and Abroad

by WITNESS

Documenting the Truth in the U.S. and Abroad

Project Report | Dec 26, 2018
Protecting Immigrants at the Border

By Emily Myers | External Relations Associate

WITNESS is building power and not paranoia by expanding our Eyes on ICE work to the US-Mexico Border with a series of Eyes on the Border documentation and video advocacy trainings in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas.

As the Trump administration pushes xenophobic and false narratives about "the immigrant threat," militarizes the border, and continues to separate children from their parents, we know that in order to fully inform the public of the situation at the border and fight for immigrant rights, stories from the community and eyewitness documentation of abuses must be seen and heard. This is why in 2018 WITNESS’ US team held a series of Eyes on the Border documentation and video advocacy trainings in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas.

In partnership with The Rio Grande Valley Equal Voice Network (RGV EVN), we conducted three trainings focused on using video to expose abuses by Border Patrol and advocate for immigrant rights. RGV EVN is a network of organizations offering direct services to local immigrant communities, united by a vision of organizing constituents into a local force for lasting social and political change in one of the poorest and more disenfranchised regions of the US.

Over the course of four days, WITNESS' US Program Manager, Jackie Zammuto, and Coordinator, Palika Makam, worked with RGV EVN and the local community to train over 150 people. Trainings covered:

Using video to document abuses by Border Patrol
Using video to support deportation defense
Protecting your digital and physical security
Strategies for sharing videos
Video advocacy methodology - using video for campaign work

WITNESS also participated in two guided tours of the pedestrian bridges leading to the international ports of entry, which helped us identify opportunities for and challenges to filming in the ever-changing political landscape of the US-Mexico Border. We crossed between Brownsville, Texas and Matamoros, Mexico, and Hidalgo County, Texas and Reynosa, Mexico with folks from ACLU of Texas, RGV EVN and other local volunteers. The crossings helped WITNESS assess the situation on the bridges, speak with those waiting to gain entry into the US, and think through safety and security concerns for filming and documentation. Unfortunately filming at the bridges is a gray area, which is why our trainings focus on equipping individuals with the information, tools, and critical skills to make difficult decisions about filming in moments of crisis.

WITNESS also conducted valuable one-on-one meetings with RGV EVN's Civic Engagement Working Group about incorporating video advocacy into their "get out the vote" campaign, and met with powerful intergenerational organizers from ARISE, South Texas Civil Rights Project and Fuerza del Valle to learn more about their work, and how video might be able to support their efforts moving forward.

We are humbled and energized by the intergenerational, thoughtful organizing spirit of the immigration activists and community members we met in the Rio Grande Valley. It is imperative that their stories - successes, challenges, and the abuses their community face are witnessed by the rest of the country, and we look forward to supporting them and continuing our collaboration with the RGV EVN community.

Helpful Resources:

Eyes on ICE: Documenting Abuses by Immigration Enforcement (WITNESS) – includes resources, case studies, videos, and more about how video is and can be used to fight deportations and advocate for immigrant rights (available in multiple languages)
Eyes on the Border: Keeping Families Together (WITNESS)
Know Your Rights at the US-Mexico Border (ACLU of Texas)
Your Rights in the Border Zone (ACLU of Texas)

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Sep 25, 2018
Kicking ICE out of Courts to Protect Immigrants

By Ali Sidiki | Communications Associate, WITNESS

As the Trump administration continues to crack down on immigrants’ rights and crank up its deportation machine, migrant communities everywhere are seeking protection from so-called "zero tolerance" policies and developing new methods of mutual protection.

While some cities have attempted to craft protective policies to minimize Immigration and Customs Enforcement (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 2017, there was a 1200% increase in reports of ICE arrests and attempted arrests at New York courthouses.

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, and New York Civil Liberties Union 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 applied to communities in other spaces. It offers important information about our rights and best practices for documenting an incident, and always remind people who might film to always use their best judgment and assess risks to themselves and those they are filming before hitting “record”.

We think that this is a very important resource as ICE has publicly declared that it will not refrain from arresting witnesses and survivors of crime at court appearances. ICE’s presence in and around courthouses further creates a climate of fear and panic for immigrant communities as people are reluctant to testify as witnesses, show up for court dates or scheduled immigration check-ins.

In many cases, individuals arrested in and around courthouses were facing a first-time arrest for a traffic violation, and most immigrants were reporting to court on low-level offenses. In some cases, charges were even dismissed, but ICE still proceeded with the arrest. Several of those arrested had documented mental health issues, and/or were survivors of family violence.

Friend, as ICE continues to rip families apart, we hope that you will continue to support us so we can reach immigrant communities far and wide across the U.S. and make sure that they are always equipped with resources like these that will expose the truth.

Human rights are for everyone, regardless of citizenship status.

Links:

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Jun 13, 2018
Using Facebook in an Era of Mass Deportation

By Pali Makam | U.S. Program Coordinator

Facebook in an era of mass deportation

Dear Friend,

For many across the United States, learning about the Cambridge Analytica scandal was the first time they became aware of how their data and security are often compromised by the social media platforms we engage with every day. As law enforcement agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continue to function unshackled by the Trump administration, immigrant communities, activists, and other marginalized folks in the U.S. face increased threats to their safety and security that go far beyond Cambridge Analytica.

Understanding how we engage with social media platforms, and how information can be collected and potentially used against us is critical to knowing how we can better safeguard at-risk communities. To better understand how we can address people’s concerns around Facebook, we worked with our partners at Make the Road New York to compile a list of digital security questions from immigrant community members.

Thanks to our Tech Advocacy Program Manager, Dia Kayyali, data and security expert Sarah Aoun, and public defender and social justice lawyer with Legal Aid, Bina Ahmad, for helping us answer these questions and working to keep our movements safe.

Read our blog post to learn more-- Using Facebook in an Era of Mass Deportation. This analysis of risk on Facebook extends from our project Eyes on ICE . Through the project, we have produced case studies and guidance on using video to expose ICE's manipulative tactics and advocate for immigrant communities. Select recourses are available in Arabic, French, Haitian Creole and Spanish.

Here are some more highlights from the past few months:

Our Indigenous Voices webinar was recently featured in Vantage! This one-hour online workshop offers practical guidance for Native Americans and Indigenous activists interested in safely, ethically and effectively using video for evidence and advocacy.
WITNESS is proud to join We Have Rights - a national empowerment campaign from Brooklyn Defender Services, ACLU and MediaTank Productions that provides critical information to communities threatened by ICE through 4 short animated videos available in 6 languages.
Our U.S. Program Manager, Jackie Zammuto, spoke to Motherboard about the retaliation and harassment people often face after filming and exposing incidents of police violence. Learn more about our work on documenting police abuse here.

We thank you for standing with WITNESS and your support of a more just and inclusive society!

Links:

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