SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio TikTok user is using the platform to share where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been spotted in the area.
Jeremy Brown averages thousands of views on his videos, using the double entendre “ICE” to reference weather conditions while actually referring to immigration enforcement.
“I’m trying to help the community in any way I can,” Brown said.
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told KSAT in a statement that ICE officers “are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults as cowardly politicians and activists encourage violence against them.”
“We have said it a million times: ICE does NOT arrest or deport U.S. citizens. If a U.S. citizen is arrested, it is because they have obstructed or assaulted law enforcement,” the spokesperson said. DHS oversees ICE.
In one video, Brown said, “Driving can get very dangerous with ICE, if you don’t believe me, just ask Minneapolis,” shortly after Renee Good was shot and killed by ICE officers there.
Brown said it is important to him to report sightings of ICE in high-traffic places like Southwest Military Drive and Potranco Road because he feels like he needs to use his privilege to “give something back.”
Since Brown has been posting about ICE sightings in San Antonio, his videos have received hundreds of comments, and he’s been receiving messages with tips and pictures of ICE whereabouts.
“I woke up and saw it had gone nuts and so many messages of folks telling me like where they’ve been, where they’ve seen things,” Brown said.
What’s legal, what’s not
KSAT spoke with immigration attorney Marlyn Moreno, who said it is legal to share information about where public ICE operations are taking place.
“It is a First Amendment right to be there, to record, and to share information with the public,” Moreno said.
It is illegal to assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate or interfere with a federal officer while they are performing their duties.
“So long as you’re keeping your safe distance... and you are not interfering with the law enforcement by physically stopping them or trying to stop them or assault them or obstructing them, you will be fine,” she said. “What is not okay is to help somebody escape.”
Moreno also said it is legal to record these officers, ask them questions and share visuals of their faces, even their names.
“In the United States, we are not meant to have secret police or secret law enforcement,” Moreno said. “What is not OK is to give, to reveal or to share their addresses.”
You also can not physically assault an officer. If you touch or assault an officer, they can detain you even if you are a U.S. citizen.
Moreno encourages everyone to record any interactions with an immigration officer for their own records. But advised to not to impede an active investigation, which could lead to an arrest.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include more context on the legality of recording and reporting ICE operations and a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.
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