We are living through an undoubtedly grim chapter of history. The thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers that the Trump administration had deployed nationwide have been linked to numerous violent confrontations, the detention of naturalized U.S. Citizens, and multiple fatal shootings. In Minneapolis, where the largest contingent of ICE and other federal agents has been deployed in recent weeks, the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of immigration officers brought tensions between the government agency and local communities to an all-time high, and inspired widespread calls for ICE to be abolished entirely.
At the same time, grassroots campaigns and community-run platforms have emerged to track where federal immigration enforcement actions are happening, to help civilians monitor or avoid the officers’ presence in their communities.
Many people have also relied on social media word-of-mouth to keep an eye on ICE activity, with infographics listing neighborhoods where officers have been spotted, and in-the-moment callouts warning people about approaching raids. Though these real-time updates can be vital for those trying to avoid enforcement confrontations, they often lack clear specifics and can lead to unnecessary chaos and panic. Well-intentioned misinformation can spread when people post about sightings without details, particularly if that content is shared long after raids have ended. To address this, the Immigration Coalition has compiled a checklist of details (aka the SALUTE list) to include in social media alerts about ICE’s presence. That way, you can ensure that people know exactly when and where there’s been ICE activity and what they should specifically be on the lookout for. And if you can, be sure to include clear images and/or videos in your posts for verification and added context. It’s your constitutional right to record and report federal law enforcement activity in public spaces.
How to Post about ICE Sightings
- Size: Note how many officers have been spotted, and how many people have been detained (if any were).
- Activity: Specify what is visibly happening. That means if you’ve spotted people being detained, questioned, or officers circling the area.
- Location: Be as precise as possible: name addresses, crosstreets, or even a nearby store/landmark. When this is too vague, it can spread panic, and it’s not as helpful for people in the specific area where activity has been tracked.
- Units/Uniforms: Call out whatever names, acronyms, or numbers you can see on uniforms or vehicles. This way, immigration enforcement isn’t confused with local police units or other agencies.
- Time: Specify the exact date and time so that activity info isn’t shared or reposted days after the fact.
- Equipment: Flag what equipment is being used, whether that’s flexicuffs, weapons drawn, door breakers, or biometric scanners.
Where You Can Track ICE Activity
Outside of social media, the following platforms share crowd-sourced real-time information about ICE activity. If you’re already planning to share detailed warnings with your followers, here are some additional places (that rely on user-submitted data) that you can send them to, so that you inform people outside of your social media network:
- ICEout.org (Collects community-submitted information about possible ICE activity to track observed, active, and critical ICE activity across the country)
- ICEInMyArea.org (Reports submitted to their site are reviewed by a team member and then added to their real-time ICE tracking map)
- StopICE.net (Utilizes crowd-sourced exact GPS locations submitted on their site to send mobile alerts to those within a certain mile radius who’ve signed up for notifications)
Annabel Iwegbue is a culture editor at Cosmopolitan, where she primarily covers pop culture, lifestyle, relationships, and digital trends. She previously wrote for Harper's Bazaar, The Knockturnal, and Black Film. She's originally from Charleston, South Carolina, and is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. She holds a B.A. in Journalism and Cinema Studies from New York University. You can check out some of Annabel’s work here and also find her on Instagram and Twitter.
