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Is it legal to follow ICE agents?
FOX 9's Corin Hoggard spoke Tuesday with Ryan Ecklund, a Woodbury native who was detained by ICE agents for more than nine hours after he followed and recorded their actions.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Several videos posted to social media show ICE agents in Minnesota telling observers to stop recording.
Some observers say they've been detained simply for filming. A federal judge recently found DHS has adopted an unlawful policy that suppresses First Amendment rights.
DHS implemented policy on recording and threats
What we know:
Several videos posted to social media show ICE agents in Minnesota telling observers to stop recording. Some observers say they've been detained simply for filming.
A DHS bulletin issued last June identified the use of cameras, live-streaming interactions with officers, and video recording at protests as "unlawful civil unrest" tactics and "threats."
Dig deeper:
The bulletin was cited in an ongoing court case out of California in which journalists accused DHS of adopting an "unlawful" policy suppressing protected First Amendment reporting, observation and speech activities.
The lawsuit claimed DHS Secretary Kristi Noem "established, sanctioned, and ratified an agency policy of treating video recording of DHS agents in public as a threat that may be responded to with force and addressed as a crime."
The court records also include numerous statements from DHS officials about observers who follow and record them during operations.
Judge sides with journalists on DHS recording policy
What they're saying:
In an official statement last summer, a DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs said, "videotaping ICE law enforcement and posting photos and videos of them online is doxing our agents… [We] will prosecute those who illegally harass ICE agents to the fullest extent of the law."
But U.S. District Judge Hernan A. Vera ruled last week that DHS has in fact adopted a policy that appears to violate the Administrative Procedure Act.
"Plaintiffs have plausibly and sufficiently alleged a decision to adopt a policy with regards to how DHS treats the recording of its agents," Vera wrote.
In addition, every federal Circuit Court of Appeals that has addressed this issue has held that "there is a First Amendment right to record police activity in public," according to a 2017 ruling from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
A federal judge in Minnesota heard similar arguments this week about ICE tactics being utilized as part of recent immigration operations.
Similar allegations made in Minnesota court case
Local perspective:
The ACLU in Minnesota filed a lawsuit claiming federal agents are violating the constitutional rights of protesters and observers.
During a court hearing on Tuesday, attorneys for DHS argued observers do not have First Amendment rights to peacefully follow law enforcement in the current environment because they are summoning crowds of antagonists who eventually impact ICE operations.
In a video posted last week, an agent snatched the phone out of a woman's hand as she was recording ICE agents during a traffic stop. The agent seemed to be accusing her of "illegally" following them.
"Our position is that when Minnesotans are operating their cars lawfully on public roads, that's not a basis for ICE to affect a traffic stop or point guns at anyone or use force against them," said ACLU attorney Kyle Wislocky. "They haven't committed any crimes."