Democrats offer up legal protections for people filming ICE operations
Arguing that federal agents have violated protesters' First Amendment rights, lawmakers are proposing consequences for officers who prevent people from recording them.
Benjamin S. Weiss / June 8, 2026
WASHINGTON (CN) — A pair of congressional Democrats on Monday unveiled a bill they said would shield the legal rights of people filming immigration officers and other federal agents conducting law enforcement activities and allow people to sue the government for infringing on those rights.
The measure, proposed by Florida Representative Maxwell Frost and Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, comes amid renewed scrutiny of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown following days of intense clashes between federal agents and protesters outside a detention facility in New Jersey.
And it comes as a multi-agency crime task force is already facing a lawsuit claiming it violated the First Amendment rights of American citizens during recent operations in Tennessee.
The proposed “Right to Record” Act, obtained by Courthouse News, would make it illegal for federal police officers or immigration agents to prevent people from recording, observing or peacefully protesting law enforcement activity. The measure would also bar federal agents from “threatening, intimidating or coercing” a person who records their operations with any negative consequences, including adding the person’s information or “biometric characteristics” into any database.
https://www.courthousenews.com/democrats-offer-up-legal-protections-for-people-filming-ice-operations/