What We Sought
Since the beginning of the Trump-Vance administration, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have aggressively used media stunts to highlight the administration’s successes, even when its content is highly misleading. In January and June, Dr. Phil “embedded” with immigration authorities during a Chicago raid. CNN in July reported that DHS was in the early stages of vetting a possible immigrant reality television show where individuals would compete to win American citizenship. In October, ICE conducted a raid on an entire apartment building, reportedly detaining nearly all residents–including U.S. citizens–in apparent violation of the residents’ constitutional rights. DHS nonetheless published a video valorizing this action using numerous camera angles indicating that it was a compilation of a substantial quantity of footage edited for public relations purposes. In November, press revealed that Secretary Kristi Noem’s public affairs shop has been funneling hundreds of millions of dollars for advertising campaigns regarding the “national emergency” at the southern border to personal connections.
We have sent FOIA requests seeking records related to Dr. Phil’s embed with ICE; video footage from ICE’s Chicago apartment raid; communications surrounding advertising campaigns run by friends of the Secretary; and much more.
What We Received
In November, DFF filed a lawsuit seeking records related to video footage from ICE’s Chicago apartment raid. We will continue to provide updates on the information we receive regarding these requests.
